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Give me a break. Everyone here has seen gas prices shoot up 20-30 cents INSTANTLY when oil jumps $10/barrel. But when it falls just as quickly, gas prices seem to stay there.

Defend this if you will, but there is something wrong.

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You are noticing a very common effect in business. There is a tendency to set prices high and then lower them down to the profit-maximizing point of equilibrium. If you have noticed, gas prices have been steadily dropping since summer. There may be a recent hiccup due to events related to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, but the trend has been down since the summer break/vacation period is over.

If it makes you feel any better those evil oil companies only maximize their profit at equilibrium, so if they are really pricing gas too high, then it will continue to fall until they maximize profits (which after all is a function of price AND units sold....not simply price).

It would be nice to believe you except for the fact oil companies were the main reason (back in the 1800’s) for anti-trust legislation to begin with. The States had forms of anti trust law, but the Feds in the 1800's got involved. History shows corruption in the industry runs rampant....nature of humanity to be corrupt I suppose and not just limited to the oil industry. Some form of anti trust law dates back to Roman times, medieval times. Collusion, price fixing, can lead to huge profits. How much corruption now with oil? I just don't know. That being said, I doubt there is not some manipulation to max profits on the back of a guy like me who has no choice but to buy the gas at the pump. I have absolutely no sympathy for oil companies, distributors and retailers. I do realize that the majority of price has nothing to do with the Oil Companies, perhaps their activities affect the price at the pump by 10% or so...I just do not give a rats butt about the poor, poor oil companies that so many on this site defend......