Gas Prices Near You?

[*ochocincos*]

(06-12-2022, 09:37 PM)bengaloo Wrote: $4.89 and climbing here. The last time we saw gas prices over $4 was when Obama was president. I wonder why....actually I dont wonder why, its obvious to anyone who understand basic economics. Sadly, very few do.

Gas prices were also lower during part of Obama's terms than they were under Trump.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/204740/retail-price-of-gasoline-in-the-united-states-since-1990/

The retail price of gasoline in the US was $2.14 in 2016, which Obama was still president.
Gas was also at $2.35 in 2009.

Gas prices during Trump's term were all higher than $2.14 until COVID hit and forced prices to drop since hardly anyone was driving.

The reason for gas prices being where they are has always been corporations setting the price to what consumers are willing and able to pay.
It's true that it's supply and demand to an extent, but because so many people drive gas-powered vehicles, the demand will always be relatively high unless people start driving less.
Currently, even though demand is increasing, oil producers have not increased production of oil to match. They have the ability to do it though.

Quote:Troy Vincent, a senior market analyst at energy analysis firm DTN, says the Russian invasion isn't the only factor.

Demand for gas plummeted during the pandemic, causing oil producers to put the brakes on production. Even though demand is nearing pre-pandemic levels, producers are still gun-shy about increasing production. In April, OPEC fell short of its targeted production increase by 2.7 million barrels a day.

Stores of domestic gasoline decreased by 800 trillion barrels last week, according to the EIA. Meanwhile, as the summer driving season continues, demand grew from 8.99 million to 9.2 million barrels a day.

"This dynamic between decreased supply and increased demand is contributing to rising prices at the pump," AAA said in a June 13 statement. "Coupled with increasing crude oil prices, this means that the price of gas will likely remain elevated for the near future."

https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/heres-why-gas-prices-are-so-high-and-why-they-wont-be-going-down-anytime-soon/