Gas Station Price API

Category: Retail Fuel | Industry: Gas Stations & Convenience Stores

Gas station operators need accurate, real-time fuel price data to stay competitive in a market where price changes can impact customer traffic within hours. OilPriceAPI provides wholesale fuel pricing, market benchmarks, and trend data to help station owners optimize their pricing strategies. For automated price tracking workflows, explore our Zapier integration or Make (Integromat) integration.

The Challenge

Gas station operators and fuel retailers face intense competition where pricing decisions directly impact profitability:

  • Razor-thin margins require precise pricing to remain profitable
  • Competitor price monitoring is manual and time-consuming
  • Wholesale price volatility makes cost forecasting difficult
  • Customer price sensitivity means small differences drive traffic
  • Multi-location management complicates coordinated pricing decisions
  • Delayed market data leads to missed optimization opportunities

Without access to real-time wholesale fuel prices and market trends, gas station operators struggle to balance competitiveness with profitability. Switching from expensive EIA data? See our EIA alternative comparison for migration options.

The Solution

OilPriceAPI delivers reliable wholesale fuel price data and market intelligence that empowers gas station operators to make data-driven pricing decisions.

Key Benefits

BenefitImpact
Wholesale price trackingKnow your true cost basis in real-time
Market trend analysisAnticipate price movements before competitors
Margin optimizationSet prices that maximize profitability
Multi-fuel supportTrack regular, premium, diesel, and E85 benchmarks
Historical dataAnalyze patterns for strategic planning

Relevant API Endpoints

Get Current Wholesale Fuel Prices

Track wholesale gasoline and diesel prices that influence your cost structure:

# Get current gasoline wholesale price
curl "https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/prices/latest?by_code=GASOLINE_USD" \
  -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY"

# Get RBOB gasoline (reformulated blendstock)
curl "https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/prices/latest?by_code=GASOLINE_RBOB_USD" \
  -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY"

# Get multiple fuel types
curl "https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/prices/latest?by_code=GASOLINE_USD,DIESEL_USD,HEATING_OIL_USD" \
  -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY"

Response:

{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "price": 2.18,
    "formatted": "$2.18",
    "currency": "USD",
    "code": "GASOLINE_USD",
    "created_at": "2025-01-15T14:30:00.000Z",
    "type": "spot_price"
  }
}

Monitor Crude Oil Prices

Track crude oil benchmarks that drive wholesale fuel costs:

# WTI Crude (US benchmark)
curl "https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/prices/latest?by_code=WTI_USD" \
  -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY"

# Brent Crude (international benchmark)
curl "https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/prices/latest?by_code=BRENT_CRUDE_USD" \
  -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY"

Identify patterns to anticipate price movements:

# Get past week of gasoline prices with daily averages
curl "https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/prices/past_week?by_code=GASOLINE_USD&interval=1d" \
  -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY"

# Get past month for trend analysis
curl "https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/prices/past_month?by_code=GASOLINE_RBOB_USD&interval=1d" \
  -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY"

Integration Examples

Gas Station Pricing Dashboard

Build a pricing intelligence dashboard for your station or chain. Prefer spreadsheet solutions? Try our Google Sheets integration for no-code price tracking:

import requests
from datetime import datetime

class GasStationPricingAPI:
    def __init__(self, api_key):
        self.api_key = api_key
        self.base_url = 'https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1'
        self.headers = {'Authorization': f'Token {api_key}'}

    def get_wholesale_prices(self):
        """Get current wholesale fuel prices."""
        response = requests.get(
            f'{self.base_url}/prices/latest',
            params={'by_code': 'GASOLINE_USD,GASOLINE_RBOB_USD,DIESEL_USD'},
            headers=self.headers
        )
        return response.json()

    def get_crude_benchmarks(self):
        """Get crude oil benchmark prices."""
        response = requests.get(
            f'{self.base_url}/prices/latest',
            params={'by_code': 'WTI_USD,BRENT_CRUDE_USD'},
            headers=self.headers
        )
        return response.json()

    def calculate_target_margin(self, wholesale_price, target_margin_cents=15):
        """Calculate retail price target based on desired margin."""
        margin = target_margin_cents / 100  # Convert cents to dollars
        retail_target = wholesale_price + margin
        return round(retail_target, 2)

    def analyze_price_trend(self, commodity='GASOLINE_USD', days=7):
        """Analyze price trend for the past week."""
        endpoint = 'past_week' if days <= 7 else 'past_month'
        response = requests.get(
            f'{self.base_url}/prices/{endpoint}',
            params={'by_code': commodity, 'interval': '1d'},
            headers=self.headers
        )
        data = response.json()
        prices = data['data']['prices']

        if len(prices) < 2:
            return {'trend': 'insufficient_data'}

        latest = prices[0]['price']
        previous = prices[-1]['price']
        change = latest - previous
        pct_change = (change / previous) * 100

        return {
            'current_price': latest,
            'week_ago_price': previous,
            'change': round(change, 3),
            'pct_change': round(pct_change, 2),
            'trend': 'rising' if change > 0 else 'falling' if change < 0 else 'stable'
        }

    def get_pricing_recommendation(self, current_retail_price, target_margin_cents=15):
        """Get pricing recommendation based on current market."""
        wholesale = self.get_wholesale_prices()
        gasoline_wholesale = wholesale['data']['price']

        target_retail = self.calculate_target_margin(gasoline_wholesale, target_margin_cents)
        trend = self.analyze_price_trend()

        recommendation = {
            'wholesale_price': gasoline_wholesale,
            'current_retail': current_retail_price,
            'target_retail': target_retail,
            'current_margin': round((current_retail_price - gasoline_wholesale) * 100, 1),
            'target_margin_cents': target_margin_cents,
            'market_trend': trend['trend'],
            'action': 'hold'
        }

        if current_retail_price < target_retail - 0.03:
            recommendation['action'] = 'increase'
        elif current_retail_price > target_retail + 0.05:
            recommendation['action'] = 'decrease'

        return recommendation

# Usage example
pricing = GasStationPricingAPI('YOUR_API_KEY')
rec = pricing.get_pricing_recommendation(current_retail_price=3.29)
print(f"Recommendation: {rec['action']} price")
print(f"Current margin: {rec['current_margin']} cents/gallon")

JavaScript/Node.js Multi-Location Manager

class StationPricingManager {
  constructor(apiKey) {
    this.apiKey = apiKey;
    this.baseUrl = 'https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1';
  }

  async getMarketPrices() {
    const response = await fetch(
      `${this.baseUrl}/prices/latest?by_code=GASOLINE_USD,DIESEL_USD,GASOLINE_RBOB_USD`,
      {
        headers: { 'Authorization': `Token ${this.apiKey}` }
      }
    );
    return response.json();
  }

  async calculateStationMargins(stations) {
    const wholesale = await this.getWholesalePrice('GASOLINE_USD');

    return stations.map(station => ({
      stationId: station.id,
      location: station.location,
      currentRetail: station.retailPrice,
      wholesalePrice: wholesale,
      marginCents: Math.round((station.retailPrice - wholesale) * 100),
      profitability: this.assessProfitability((station.retailPrice - wholesale) * 100)
    }));
  }

  assessProfitability(marginCents) {
    if (marginCents < 10) return 'low';
    if (marginCents < 20) return 'normal';
    return 'high';
  }

  async getWholesalePrice(commodity) {
    const response = await fetch(
      `${this.baseUrl}/prices/latest?by_code=${commodity}`,
      {
        headers: { 'Authorization': `Token ${this.apiKey}` }
      }
    );
    const data = await response.json();
    return data.data.price;
  }

  async getPriceChangeAlert(thresholdCents = 5) {
    const response = await fetch(
      `${this.baseUrl}/prices/past_day?by_code=GASOLINE_USD&interval=1h`,
      {
        headers: { 'Authorization': `Token ${this.apiKey}` }
      }
    );
    const data = await response.json();
    const prices = data.data.prices;

    if (prices.length < 2) return null;

    const latest = prices[0].price;
    const dayStart = prices[prices.length - 1].price;
    const changeCents = Math.round((latest - dayStart) * 100);

    if (Math.abs(changeCents) >= thresholdCents) {
      return {
        alert: true,
        direction: changeCents > 0 ? 'increase' : 'decrease',
        changeCents: Math.abs(changeCents),
        message: `Wholesale gasoline ${changeCents > 0 ? 'up' : 'down'} ${Math.abs(changeCents)} cents today`
      };
    }
    return { alert: false };
  }
}

// Multi-location pricing analysis
const manager = new StationPricingManager(process.env.OILPRICE_API_KEY);

const stations = [
  { id: 'STN-001', location: 'Main St', retailPrice: 3.29 },
  { id: 'STN-002', location: 'Highway 101', retailPrice: 3.35 },
  { id: 'STN-003', location: 'Downtown', retailPrice: 3.19 }
];

const margins = await manager.calculateStationMargins(stations);
console.log('Station margin analysis:', margins);

Use Cases

1. Real-Time Margin Monitoring

Track your actual margins throughout the day as wholesale prices fluctuate. Receive alerts when margins fall below target thresholds.

2. Competitive Pricing Strategy

Use wholesale price trends to anticipate competitor price changes and adjust your pricing proactively rather than reactively.

3. Multi-Location Price Coordination

Manage pricing across multiple stations with centralized wholesale cost data, ensuring consistent margin targets.

4. Seasonal Demand Planning

Analyze historical price patterns to prepare for seasonal demand shifts and optimize inventory purchasing.

5. Supplier Cost Verification

Benchmark your fuel supplier invoices against market wholesale prices to ensure competitive purchasing terms.

ROI and Value Proposition

MetricTypical Improvement
Margin optimization+2-5 cents per gallon
Price response time4-8 hours faster than manual tracking
Manager time saved5-10 hours/week on price monitoring
Supplier negotiation leverageBetter data for contract discussions

For a station selling 100,000 gallons per month, a 3-cent margin improvement equals $3,000 in additional monthly profit.

Why Gas Station Operators Choose OilPriceAPI

Our API enables proactive pricing strategies by providing real-time wholesale price visibility. Instead of reacting to competitor changes, station operators can anticipate market movements and optimize retail pricing to protect margins.

Getting Started

  1. Sign up at oilpriceapi.com/signup
  2. Access your API key from the dashboard
  3. Test wholesale price endpoints using the examples above
  4. Integrate with your POS or pricing management system
  5. Set up monitoring for real-time margin tracking

Frequently Asked Questions

How often is wholesale gasoline price data updated?

OilPriceAPI updates prices every 15 minutes during market hours, with wholesale gasoline and RBOB prices refreshed multiple times per hour. This frequency ensures you can respond to market movements faster than competitors relying on daily or weekly updates.

What commodities are most relevant for gas station operators?

Gas station operators typically track wholesale gasoline (GASOLINE_USD), RBOB gasoline (GASOLINE_RBOB_USD), diesel (DIESEL_USD), and crude oil benchmarks (WTI_USD, BRENT_CRUDE_USD) that drive wholesale costs. All are available through our single API.

Can I access historical price data for margin analysis?

Yes, all plans include historical data access. Use the /v1/prices/past_week or /v1/prices/past_month endpoints to analyze wholesale price trends and correlate with your historical retail margins for optimization insights.

How quickly can I integrate the API into my pricing system?

Most developers integrate within 1-2 hours using our code examples. The free tier is available immediately after signup, allowing you to build and test your pricing dashboard or POS integration before committing to a paid plan.

How do I calculate my retail margin in real-time?

Query the API for current wholesale gasoline price, then subtract from your posted retail price. Our code examples above show how to build margin monitoring dashboards that alert you when margins fall below target thresholds.

Can this API help with multi-location price management?

Yes, use our API to establish a consistent wholesale cost basis across all locations. This enables centralized margin targets while allowing location-specific retail adjustments based on local competition and traffic patterns.

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