Why does this lag in pricing happen and is it a truly %26quot;fair%26quot; system?
How does Europe compare? Have their prices fallen as rapidly (and accordingly) as our gas prices, now that oil is trading at less than 75 bucks a barrel?
I know their prices are 3-4 times higher than ours due to high taxation, which means there%26#039;s more stability in gas prices since crude oil prices make up a smaller percentage of their price tag at the pump. Therefore, in the US, any change in crude oil pricing means a greater *percentage* change of price at the pump, although the *absolute* price change remains relatively small.
Thanks!|||I would call it nothing more than blatant profiteering as the petroleum producers are quick to put up the prices, but are reluctant to bring them down again. In the UK, the major supermarkets are leading the way in dropping the pump prices by up to 5 pence per litre. Currently their prices are about 99 pence a litre / 拢4.50 per gallon, still way above what they were 12 months ago!! Don%26#039;t you believe that there is more stability in the pump prices as it depends on where you live in relation to the pump price. I live near Coventry in the Midlands, but where the price is up to 5 pence per litre -25 pence per gallon- more expensive than 10 miles away in Staffordshire, and has been for months! Fuel costs have risen by more than 30% in just 4 months.|||Economists have technical term for this. It is called %26quot;sticky%26quot; prices. Prices rise quickly but fall slowly. Is it fair? No most would think it isn%26#039;t. But the companies selling their product are going to price it as high as they can. It becomes a kind of a game of chicken, which firm will lower prices first? News reports are full of rationalizations companies have for this behavior. One is well we lost money for so long, we deserve it. That is the one the airlines are using now.
The best thing the consumer can do is be educated about the prices of goods and services they buy. Knowledge is power and power is money. So spend you money the best way you can. Also buying from one firm over another is like casting a vote. The consumers have the power to %26quot;vote out%26quot; any company.|||Hey, the service stations buy the gas from the semi%26#039;s. It is in huge tanks underground. At a higher cost. It takes awhile before that high cost fuel is replaced by lower cost fuel so they are gonna sell all the higher priced stuff at the higher cost. Only figures.
That is their story. Unfortunately it does not work when they raise prices. That happens overnight. What are you gonna do. You need the stuff.
