Gasoline Perplexities

Last year the unexpectedly large production of crude petroleum brought on a crisis in the oil industry by smashing the high prices for crude oil and even for its refined products. Large companies, however, stocked the excess crude oil product, and refineries greatly increased their stocks of gasoline. This policy seemed fairly safe at the time, because of automobile makers' confident predictions of a 5,000,000 car year in 1924 and a consequent heavy increase in gasoline consumption.

This Spring, however, several things happened. Oil companies raised the price of crude, and again wildcatters began to bring in new crude production. Meanwhile the optimistic predictions of car makers suffered a rude jolt, and curtailment of car production became general throughout the industry. On top of this, the cold Spring dampened the enthusiasm of the motorist. In consequence, consumption of gasoline has not been extraordinary. But stocks of gasoline reached the wholly unprecedented figure of 1,600,000,000 gallons at the end of April. The indefatigable Governor McMasters of South Dakota is underselling the refineries from stocks purchased with State funds, and even further East, gasoline prices are being reduced.

Just now the oil companies do not know quite where they are at, and nether does anyone else. The professional prophets of business tendencies hesitate to predict another oil crisis, yet it is apparent that the great prosperity predicted for the oil companies last Winter is equally uncertain.