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SpotPump in 60 seconds
SpotPump helps you spot the cheapest gas near you and decide whether to fill up now or wait — based on what crude oil is actually doing in the market.
How the buy/wait signal works
The signal is a weighted composite of five factors, each chosen because it has a measurable, time-tested relationship with what you actually pay at the pump. The result runs from Hold off to Top off the tank.
NYMEX front-month RBOB (the refined gasoline contract) is the most direct predictor of what you pay at the pump — it typically leads retail prices by about one week. When RBOB rises, the pump follows quickly; when it falls, relief usually comes within days. This is why it carries the highest weight.
West Texas Intermediate spot price is the traditional leading indicator for U.S. pump prices, with a 2–3 week lag as crude is refined and distributed. It remains an important input because RBOB can sometimes be thin on volume while WTI is a more liquid, stable signal.
The premium Brent crude commands over WTI is the market's real-time geopolitical risk gauge. During conflicts in oil-producing regions — a war in the Middle East, sanctions on a major exporter — Brent surges faster than WTI. A spread that widens significantly above its 52-week average is an early warning that global supply is under threat, even if U.S. crude looks calm.
The EIA publishes weekly US total gasoline stocks. We compare the current level to the same-week 5-year seasonal average. When inventories are below average, supply is structurally tight — prices tend to stay firm or rise even if crude is flat. Above average means there is a cushion; price spikes are harder to sustain. Requires a free EIA API key to activate.
US gasoline demand follows a highly predictable annual cycle — it ramps from spring into peak driving season (Memorial Day through Labor Day), then fades into winter. This seasonal curve, derived from decades of EIA demand data, is baked directly into the signal: a fill-up verdict in July carries more urgency than the same crude reading in January.
The five factors are combined into a single score (−100 to +100), then mapped to a verdict tier. Two helper chips appear alongside it:
- Confidence (green / amber / gray) — how strong the composite signal is. High confidence means multiple factors are aligned; low confidence means the picture is mixed.
- Volatility (green / amber / red) — 30-day standard deviation of WTI daily moves. High volatility — often driven by geopolitical events — means the signal is harder to time precisely.
Where the data comes from
- Gas stations and per-grade prices — Google Places API (New). SerpApi is configured as a fallback if Google fails.
- EV charging stations — Open Charge Map (free, community-maintained). Covers Level 2 and DC Fast chargers with connector type, power output, network operator, and availability status.
- Crude oil and RBOB gasoline futures — Massive.com intraday futures (WTI
CL, BrentBZ, RBOBRB). The U.S. Energy Information Administration is configured as a fallback. - US gasoline inventory — U.S. Energy Information Administration weekly petroleum status report (series
WGTSTUS1). Requires a free EIA API key. - State retail averages — AAA Gas Prices (daily); U.S. Energy Information Administration as fallback (weekly).
- Address autocomplete — Mapbox; Photon (OpenStreetMap-based) as fallback.
- Reverse geocoding ("Use location") — Nominatim (OpenStreetMap).
- Map tiles — CartoDB, rendered from OpenStreetMap data.
- Oil & gas news — NewsAPI, restricted to U.S. publishers.
How fresh is the data?
- Pump prices: as Google last received them. Anything older than 3 days is filtered out automatically. Each station card shows when its price was last updated.
- EV charger data: cached for 12 hours per location. Open Charge Map updates as the community reports changes.
- Crude oil prices: refreshed every 4 hours.
- News: refreshed every hour.
- State rankings: refreshed every 12 hours (EIA publishes them weekly anyway).
Privacy
SpotPump doesn't store personal data. Your search history and theme preference are saved in your browser's local storage and never leave your device. There are no accounts, no ads, no analytics tracking, and no data sold to anyone.
When you tap "Use location," your browser asks for permission and sends the coordinates to SpotPump only long enough to find nearby stations and reverse-geocode the address shown in the search bar.
Disclaimer
Prices and the buy/wait signal are informational only. Actual prices at the pump may differ from what's shown. Don't use SpotPump as the basis for trading, hedging, or any financial decisions.