Oil prices go up when there is potential trouble in one of the energy producing regions of the world, even if the trouble never actually happens. And when oil prices rise, so too do gasoline prices.
And when the trouble abates, gasoline producers and sellers have no incentive to lower prices quickly. Would you lower the prices you are paid — and the income you make — if nobody was pressuring you? No, you wouldn’t. And since the media have now bought into the belief that the market — meaning supply and demand — controls energy prices, there isn’t even the press’ oversight.
Yes, the market does control the price of energy. Only it’s the financial markets these days. And the sooner Washington does something to slap down these profiteers, the better off consumers of energy will be. John Cradle, NewYork Post
