They have dove here in Alabama. Most stations are below $2.00. Out on the National Guard base I paid $1.74 this past weekend.
First off: Retail prices are the result of supply and demand. Second, much of the retailer’s cost of gasoline is independent of the price of crude oil. In particular, most of the tax on gasoline is per liter (or per gallon) regardless of the pre-tax price. Also, there are enormous refining and logistics costs involved in getting from the wellhead to the gas pump.
It’s kind of funny how the people who imagine oil price conspiracies never complain about the near-total disconnect between the price farmers receive for their corn crop and the price grocery stores charge for corn flakes.
Yep, just like the banks still charge high rates when they are between 0-2% for short to long. It’s legalized scalping.
If I own the gas station ... and ... I just paid top dollar to fill my tanks with the gas I’m now selling to you, do you really think I’m going to lower my price?
Not unless I have to, because I’m also planning to buy more gas in the near future and I don’t know what that price will be.
I need to make that refill tomorrow money today based on what I paid for this gas yesterday.
I might be happy if the price goes down, but not if I paid a lot for what I’m selling now.
With falling prices, now might be a good time to refill my tanks .... but I have to be careful, because if the price continues to go down, I might be selling my gas for less than I paid for it. Not good.
And .. if the price then goes up, I’ll need to make even more money today in order to refill my tanks with tomorrow’s more expensive gas so I can stay in business.
So I raise or lower my pump prices as quickly or slowly as I can and/or as competition allows, since we’re all in a similar situation.
Eastern Nevada $2.85 for 87 octane
35 miles away in Western Utah $2.45 for 87 octane at COSTCO