I should have added “per gallon”.
It doesn’t really matter, and conservatives like Sean Hannity don’t really understand the economics of the oil industry even though he tries to explain it to his listeners.
He’s got the gist right, but it’s WAY more complicated than he understands.
For one thing, let’s understand that most refineries are not owned by the oil drillers. They are totally dependent on whatever crude they can buy from whatever source. They are as much the victim as the consumer when it comes to the price of oil. They pay whatever it takes to get the feedstock.
And I know this is hard to understand, but this is even true for oil companies who both explore and refine. Historically for those “integrated” oil companies who both produce and refine, one side is making a profit and the other side is not.
Believe it or not, now is a bad time to be in refining. Those managers are trying to time the market so that they don’t buy $133 oil when their competitor buys $125 oil two days later. It kills them. Refining sucks, especially in a volatile market.