Do you shop for the lowest pump price for gas? I will if prices have spiked and I’m looking for a decent price for a fill up. We even have a phone app for that. It gives us the pump prices for at least a one suburb radius around our town. I won’t travel very far for a lower price. For pennies on a gallon, why bother to spend gas to get gas?
But here’s the thing. Pump prices are nuts over the last 18 months. Case in point: recently global oil prices have plummeted, from $54 a barrel to $45. Gas prices? They rocket between $2.40 and $2.80. Even with the coronavirus scare, oil continues to plummet in price while gasoline soars to $2.80 without a hiccup. And this is a universal price among ALL gas stations in our area.
There is no reason for the spike at the pump. There is no underlying foundation for the price change. Petroleum gurus have forecast an oil slump for months now, even predicting gas prices below $2 a gallon. Just as prices seem to soften, another spike comes along, but when barrel prices are tracked, pump prices move in the opposite direction!
Who can explain this to me? This has nothing to do with taxes at the pump. This has nothing to do with prevailing weather in the area. Or holidays.
I watch pump prices constantly. I am aware. Call it my OCD symptom. I lived through the gas lines of the 70’s and the continuing instability of pump prices in the 80’s. I watch. And I reward my patronage to the gas stations who seem fairest in their price tracking to the global market. The other stations I ignore.
I think it is interesting that our country supposedly believes in free markets. Oddly, gasoline and oil isn’t one of those markets anymore. It is a whipsawed, manipulated, price fixing oligopoly. It’s time we consumers rise up and do something about it.
This is not just an economic issue. It is a political and regulatory issue. Remember that the next time you vote.
March 2, 2020
No comments:
Post a Comment