I really don't care.. So what if the companies make a profit.. So what the companies profits increase.. Have you considered that some of these companies are worldwide???
Yeah, and in Europe the refining companies sell gasoline for the equivalent of $6-$7/gallon or more.
I used to work for an oil refining company, and I one day asked the director of marketing how it was decided where to set the wholesale price for gasoline. He gave me a long convoluted answer, but it basically amounted to this: we set our price as high as the market will bear. Period. No relation to supply or cost of production...(well, actually, the base price will reflect supply and cost of production, but these aren't the only factors in the price of gasoline). It's whatever they can get. The principle factor in the setting of prices is what the competition is charging. If the price of gasoline starts spiralling upward, it's like a thermal, carrying everyone up with it. That's what I was told, by the refinery's marketing director.