Oil-gas disconnect

Both seem to be operating in different orbits. In the latest government survey, the average price of self-serve regular in the L.A. area was $3.13, up from $2.89 on Sept. 17. Meanwhile, crude oil fell $1.04 a barrel today, to $87.56 (it had been hovering around $90 a few days ago). There's still talk of $100-a-barrel oil in the not-too-distant future, but for now traders are pulling back for a bunch of reasons - some of them technical and some of them down-to-earth (new concern about a slower economy and an easing of tensions in Turkey). Connecting the price of oil and gasoline seems as convoluted as ever. What seems to matter most are the refineries - how much they produce, how much inventory they have, and what their profit margins are. For what it's worth, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell and BP may report the first profit decline in five years, in part because of lower refining margins. (Bloomberg)