The truth about oil versus gasoline prices
Updated: the formatting was off on the chart. It's more readable now.
This New York Post article jumps on the tired old bandwagon: oh, those evil oil companies raise prices quickly and lower them slowly!
There are several reasons why this argument is completely false and absurd, not to mention dishonest when you look at the numbers.
First, it compares crude oil's $140 very temporary peak with pump prices that don't fluctuate as quickly. Short-lived peaks tend not to be reflected at the pump, because station managers prefer to keep prices stable: consumers like a stable price that's a midpoint of fluctuations, rather than a constantly changing price, because it minimizes their costs of searching for and remembering gas prices. So if oil peaked at $140 for a few days and averaged around $130 for a longer period of time, you won't see a 7.7% drop of pump prices. The pump price changed based on oil's price over a longer period of time, not to mention the lag time of several weeks that's required to refine crude oil into gasoline and deliver it.
A while back I sent Don Luskin the link to a story describing how gas stations -- yes, gas stations! -- are hurting. Believe it or not, gas stations have razor thin profit margins of a few cents per gallon, and that's before paying fees to a credit card company.
Second, the graph is statistically absurd and completely dishonest. A proper evaluation of crude versus gasoline requires much more than just the last ten months of prices. Also, the y axes have been dishonestly misaligned. An honest graph would have started with a base of zero, but here there are offsets, which were chosen carefully and deliberately. The only reason to choose them is force the prices to appear somewhat correlated until the last little while, which isn't true.
Third, oil and gasoline have separate price elasticities, on both the supply and demand curves. It's partly because not all oil is converted into gasoline, and mainly because sunk costs, marginal costs and marginal revenues are very different for the two.
Fourth, the truth is that gasoline prices have gone up more slowly than crude prices. Let's take a look at some numbers. The Department of Energy provides historical gasoline pump prices from 1978 forward and historical crude oil prices from 1993 forward. However, I went back only to 1997 for my analysis. Crude prices from 1993 through 1996 are spotty, and it's simply poor statistical work to interpolate one week's price for an entire year.
The only difficulty is in formatting the numbers. After that, it's just a matter of applying common sense, instead of succumbing to anti-capitalist hysteria. Look at the ratio of a barrel of crude to a gallon of gasoline: the truth is that the price of oil has increased much faster than the pump price of gasoline, precisely the reverse of these accusations of price-gouging! If anything, oil companies are doing a favor to consumers by increasing gasoline prices more slowly than the price of crude has gone up, wouldn't you say?
Actually, no. They're still acting in their self-interest, but for each product, the price charged is what people are willing to pay, and the different rates of price increase are merely demonstrative of the different price elasticities.
Lots of numbers follow:
This New York Post article jumps on the tired old bandwagon: oh, those evil oil companies raise prices quickly and lower them slowly!
There are several reasons why this argument is completely false and absurd, not to mention dishonest when you look at the numbers.
First, it compares crude oil's $140 very temporary peak with pump prices that don't fluctuate as quickly. Short-lived peaks tend not to be reflected at the pump, because station managers prefer to keep prices stable: consumers like a stable price that's a midpoint of fluctuations, rather than a constantly changing price, because it minimizes their costs of searching for and remembering gas prices. So if oil peaked at $140 for a few days and averaged around $130 for a longer period of time, you won't see a 7.7% drop of pump prices. The pump price changed based on oil's price over a longer period of time, not to mention the lag time of several weeks that's required to refine crude oil into gasoline and deliver it.
A while back I sent Don Luskin the link to a story describing how gas stations -- yes, gas stations! -- are hurting. Believe it or not, gas stations have razor thin profit margins of a few cents per gallon, and that's before paying fees to a credit card company.
Second, the graph is statistically absurd and completely dishonest. A proper evaluation of crude versus gasoline requires much more than just the last ten months of prices. Also, the y axes have been dishonestly misaligned. An honest graph would have started with a base of zero, but here there are offsets, which were chosen carefully and deliberately. The only reason to choose them is force the prices to appear somewhat correlated until the last little while, which isn't true.
Third, oil and gasoline have separate price elasticities, on both the supply and demand curves. It's partly because not all oil is converted into gasoline, and mainly because sunk costs, marginal costs and marginal revenues are very different for the two.
Fourth, the truth is that gasoline prices have gone up more slowly than crude prices. Let's take a look at some numbers. The Department of Energy provides historical gasoline pump prices from 1978 forward and historical crude oil prices from 1993 forward. However, I went back only to 1997 for my analysis. Crude prices from 1993 through 1996 are spotty, and it's simply poor statistical work to interpolate one week's price for an entire year.
The only difficulty is in formatting the numbers. After that, it's just a matter of applying common sense, instead of succumbing to anti-capitalist hysteria. Look at the ratio of a barrel of crude to a gallon of gasoline: the truth is that the price of oil has increased much faster than the pump price of gasoline, precisely the reverse of these accusations of price-gouging! If anything, oil companies are doing a favor to consumers by increasing gasoline prices more slowly than the price of crude has gone up, wouldn't you say?
Actually, no. They're still acting in their self-interest, but for each product, the price charged is what people are willing to pay, and the different rates of price increase are merely demonstrative of the different price elasticities.
Lots of numbers follow:
U.S. All Grades All
Formulations Retail Price per Ratio of crude
Gasoline Prices barrel of price to
Date (dollars per gallon) crude gasoline price
----------------------------------------------------------------
Jan 06, 1997 1.272 22.90 18.00
Jan 13, 1997 1.287 23.56 18.31
Jan 20, 1997 1.287 22.79 17.71
Jan 27, 1997 1.284 21.83 17.00
Feb 03, 1997 1.282 21.16 16.51
Feb 10, 1997 1.280 20.97 16.38
Feb 17, 1997 1.273 19.93 15.66
Feb 24, 1997 1.270 19.38 15.26
Mar 03, 1997 1.261 18.05 14.31
Mar 10, 1997 1.253 17.74 14.16
Mar 17, 1997 1.246 17.79 14.28
Mar 24, 1997 1.250 18.36 14.69
Mar 31, 1997 1.246 17.95 14.41
Apr 07, 1997 1.248 17.09 13.69
Apr 14, 1997 1.244 16.55 13.30
Apr 21, 1997 1.245 16.32 13.11
Apr 28, 1997 1.240 16.59 13.38
May 05, 1997 1.238 16.98 13.72
May 12, 1997 1.238 16.73 13.51
May 19, 1997 1.247 17.82 14.29
May 26, 1997 1.255 18.45 14.70
Jun 02, 1997 1.258 17.97 14.28
Jun 09, 1997 1.251 17.45 13.95
Jun 16, 1997 1.242 16.50 13.29
Jun 23, 1997 1.232 16.40 13.31
Jun 30, 1997 1.226 16.71 13.63
Jul 07, 1997 1.222 17.09 13.99
Jul 14, 1997 1.219 16.81 13.79
Jul 21, 1997 1.222 16.91 13.84
Jul 28, 1997 1.216 17.00 13.98
Aug 04, 1997 1.237 17.31 13.99
Aug 11, 1997 1.272 17.70 13.92
Aug 18, 1997 1.274 17.33 13.60
Aug 25, 1997 1.288 17.39 13.50
Sep 01, 1997 1.287 16.99 13.20
Sep 08, 1997 1.288 17.04 13.23
Sep 15, 1997 1.281 16.88 13.18
Sep 22, 1997 1.269 16.59 13.07
Sep 29, 1997 1.255 16.95 13.51
Oct 06, 1997 1.254 17.92 14.29
Oct 13, 1997 1.248 18.61 14.91
Oct 20, 1997 1.238 17.77 14.35
Oct 27, 1997 1.228 17.75 14.45
Nov 03, 1997 1.221 17.59 14.41
Nov 10, 1997 1.222 17.41 14.25
Nov 17, 1997 1.213 17.37 14.32
Nov 24, 1997 1.207 17.19 14.24
Dec 01, 1997 1.197 16.87 14.09
Dec 08, 1997 1.187 16.17 13.62
Dec 15, 1997 1.176 15.62 13.28
Dec 22, 1997 1.167 15.42 13.21
Dec 29, 1997 1.158 15.41 13.31
Jan 05, 1998 1.148 14.86 12.94
Jan 12, 1998 1.140 13.80 12.11
Jan 19, 1998 1.129 13.26 11.74
Jan 26, 1998 1.112 12.95 11.65
Feb 02, 1998 1.108 13.26 11.97
Feb 09, 1998 1.101 13.05 11.85
Feb 16, 1998 1.085 12.77 11.77
Feb 23, 1998 1.090 12.38 11.36
Mar 02, 1998 1.075 11.66 10.85
Mar 09, 1998 1.065 11.59 10.88
Mar 16, 1998 1.055 10.69 10.13
Mar 23, 1998 1.047 10.38 9.91
Mar 30, 1998 1.077 12.40 11.51
Apr 06, 1998 1.074 12.48 11.62
Apr 13, 1998 1.072 11.91 11.11
Apr 20, 1998 1.075 11.92 11.09
Apr 27, 1998 1.086 11.99 11.04
May 04, 1998 1.095 12.28 11.21
May 11, 1998 1.109 12.80 11.54
May 18, 1998 1.109 12.62 11.38
May 25, 1998 1.108 12.20 11.01
Jun 01, 1998 1.104 12.38 11.21
Jun 08, 1998 1.113 12.06 10.84
Jun 15, 1998 1.104 11.01 9.97
Jun 22, 1998 1.096 9.62 8.78
Jun 29, 1998 1.096 10.74 9.80
Jul 06, 1998 1.097 10.72 9.77
Jul 13, 1998 1.092 10.68 9.78
Jul 20, 1998 1.097 11.11 10.13
Jul 27, 1998 1.088 11.03 10.14
Aug 03, 1998 1.077 11.53 10.71
Aug 10, 1998 1.072 11.34 10.58
Aug 17, 1998 1.065 10.80 10.14
Aug 24, 1998 1.058 10.98 10.38
Aug 31, 1998 1.053 11.17 10.61
Sep 07, 1998 1.046 11.14 10.65
Sep 14, 1998 1.042 11.50 11.04
Sep 21, 1998 1.053 11.79 11.20
Sep 28, 1998 1.053 13.07 12.41
Oct 05, 1998 1.059 13.50 12.75
Oct 12, 1998 1.063 12.64 11.89
Oct 19, 1998 1.058 11.69 11.05
Oct 26, 1998 1.055 11.07 10.49
Nov 02, 1998 1.050 11.77 11.21
Nov 09, 1998 1.048 11.44 10.92
Nov 16, 1998 1.037 10.84 10.45
Nov 23, 1998 1.030 9.99 9.70
Nov 30, 1998 1.015 9.72 9.58
Dec 07, 1998 0.996 8.87 8.91
Dec 14, 1998 0.987 8.51 8.62
Dec 21, 1998 0.986 8.95 9.08
Dec 28, 1998 0.979 8.73 8.92
Jan 04, 1999 0.977 9.10 9.31
Jan 11, 1999 0.982 10.00 10.18
Jan 18, 1999 0.985 10.14 10.29
Jan 25, 1999 0.977 9.63 9.86
Feb 01, 1999 0.971 9.89 10.19
Feb 08, 1999 0.968 9.60 9.92
Feb 15, 1999 0.960 8.90 9.27
Feb 22, 1999 0.949 8.99 9.47
Mar 01, 1999 0.955 9.62 10.07
Mar 08, 1999 0.963 10.03 10.42
Mar 15, 1999 1.017 11.12 10.93
Mar 22, 1999 1.056 12.10 11.46
Mar 29, 1999 1.121 12.90 11.51
Apr 05, 1999 1.158 14.14 12.21
Apr 12, 1999 1.179 13.77 11.68
Apr 19, 1999 1.175 14.24 12.12
Apr 26, 1999 1.171 15.39 13.14
May 03, 1999 1.176 15.83 13.46
May 10, 1999 1.180 16.17 13.70
May 17, 1999 1.180 15.29 12.96
May 24, 1999 1.166 14.52 12.45
May 31, 1999 1.151 14.63 12.71
Jun 07, 1999 1.152 14.07 12.21
Jun 14, 1999 1.148 15.21 13.25
Jun 21, 1999 1.163 15.55 13.37
Jun 28, 1999 1.153 15.47 13.42
Jul 05, 1999 1.165 16.16 13.87
Jul 12, 1999 1.182 16.97 14.36
Jul 19, 1999 1.208 17.56 14.54
Jul 26, 1999 1.232 17.78 14.43
Aug 02, 1999 1.234 18.23 14.77
Aug 09, 1999 1.246 18.32 14.70
Aug 16, 1999 1.275 19.15 15.02
Aug 23, 1999 1.273 19.58 15.38
Aug 30, 1999 1.273 19.24 15.11
Sep 06, 1999 1.282 19.64 15.32
Sep 13, 1999 1.290 20.82 16.14
Sep 20, 1999 1.307 21.84 16.71
Sep 27, 1999 1.302 21.97 16.87
Oct 04, 1999 1.296 22.29 17.20
Oct 11, 1999 1.290 21.10 16.36
Oct 18, 1999 1.277 20.39 15.97
Oct 25, 1999 1.277 20.64 16.16
Nov 01, 1999 1.271 20.62 16.22
Nov 08, 1999 1.274 20.73 16.27
Nov 15, 1999 1.292 22.39 17.33
Nov 22, 1999 1.309 23.24 17.75
Nov 29, 1999 1.315 24.24 18.43
Dec 06, 1999 1.313 23.43 17.84
Dec 13, 1999 1.315 24.05 18.29
Dec 20, 1999 1.310 23.60 18.02
Dec 27, 1999 1.314 23.65 18.00
Jan 03, 2000 1.312 23.86 18.19
Jan 10, 2000 1.304 22.68 17.39
Jan 17, 2000 1.318 23.18 17.59
Jan 24, 2000 1.354 25.56 18.88
Jan 31, 2000 1.355 25.34 18.70
Feb 07, 2000 1.364 25.53 18.72
Feb 14, 2000 1.394 26.10 18.72
Feb 21, 2000 1.443 26.62 18.45
Feb 28, 2000 1.458 26.60 18.24
Mar 06, 2000 1.539 27.55 17.90
Mar 13, 2000 1.566 29.11 18.59
Mar 20, 2000 1.569 27.89 17.78
Mar 27, 2000 1.549 25.08 16.19
Apr 03, 2000 1.543 24.29 15.74
Apr 10, 2000 1.516 23.26 15.34
Apr 17, 2000 1.486 22.05 14.84
Apr 24, 2000 1.478 23.00 15.56
May 01, 2000 1.461 23.32 15.96
May 08, 2000 1.495 24.40 16.32
May 15, 2000 1.531 25.77 16.83
May 22, 2000 1.566 26.96 17.22
May 29, 2000 1.579 26.93 17.06
Jun 05, 2000 1.599 27.14 16.97
Jun 12, 2000 1.664 27.02 16.24
Jun 19, 2000 1.711 28.56 16.69
Jun 26, 2000 1.691 28.37 16.78
Jul 03, 2000 1.661 28.78 17.33
Jul 10, 2000 1.630 27.58 16.92
Jul 17, 2000 1.586 27.03 17.04
Jul 24, 2000 1.562 26.32 16.85
Jul 31, 2000 1.514 24.74 16.34
Aug 07, 2000 1.504 24.78 16.48
Aug 14, 2000 1.489 26.68 17.92
Aug 21, 2000 1.508 27.88 18.49
Aug 28, 2000 1.521 28.36 18.65
Sep 04, 2000 1.568 29.81 19.01
Sep 11, 2000 1.598 31.50 19.71
Sep 18, 2000 1.599 30.08 18.81
Sep 25, 2000 1.586 30.94 19.51
Oct 02, 2000 1.563 27.93 17.87
Oct 09, 2000 1.541 27.49 17.84
Oct 16, 2000 1.578 30.13 19.09
Oct 23, 2000 1.588 29.03 18.28
Oct 30, 2000 1.584 29.73 18.77
Nov 06, 2000 1.565 28.49 18.20
Nov 13, 2000 1.562 29.09 18.62
Nov 20, 2000 1.550 30.26 19.52
Nov 27, 2000 1.549 30.39 19.62
Dec 04, 2000 1.526 29.20 19.13
Dec 11, 2000 1.490 24.70 16.58
Dec 18, 2000 1.462 22.84 15.62
Dec 25, 2000 1.453 21.07 14.50
Jan 01, 2001 1.446 20.38 14.09
Jan 08, 2001 1.465 21.77 14.86
Jan 15, 2001 1.513 22.91 15.14
Jan 22, 2001 1.511 23.59 15.61
Jan 29, 2001 1.500 24.37 16.25
Feb 05, 2001 1.483 23.74 16.01
Feb 12, 2001 1.515 25.67 16.94
Feb 19, 2001 1.489 24.18 16.24
Feb 26, 2001 1.471 23.36 15.88
Mar 05, 2001 1.457 22.50 15.44
Mar 12, 2001 1.453 23.42 16.12
Mar 19, 2001 1.444 22.01 15.24
Mar 26, 2001 1.445 21.17 14.65
Apr 02, 2001 1.482 21.78 14.70
Apr 09, 2001 1.540 21.82 14.17
Apr 16, 2001 1.610 22.86 14.20
Apr 23, 2001 1.658 23.23 14.01
Apr 30, 2001 1.665 22.89 13.75
May 07, 2001 1.739 23.97 13.78
May 14, 2001 1.748 23.96 13.71
May 21, 2001 1.724 24.46 14.19
May 28, 2001 1.739 24.96 14.35
Jun 04, 2001 1.715 24.67 14.38
Jun 11, 2001 1.688 24.28 14.38
Jun 18, 2001 1.644 24.50 14.90
Jun 25, 2001 1.583 23.38 14.77
Jul 02, 2001 1.520 22.91 15.07
Jul 09, 2001 1.484 22.58 15.22
Jul 16, 2001 1.459 22.64 15.52
Jul 23, 2001 1.440 21.38 14.85
Jul 30, 2001 1.428 22.28 15.60
Aug 06, 2001 1.419 22.48 15.84
Aug 13, 2001 1.434 23.19 16.17
Aug 20, 2001 1.467 23.32 15.90
Aug 27, 2001 1.523 23.08 15.15
Sep 03, 2001 1.579 23.57 14.93
Sep 10, 2001 1.562 23.89 15.29
Sep 17, 2001 1.564 23.89 15.27
Sep 24, 2001 1.522 23.70 15.57
Oct 01, 2001 1.455 19.61 13.48
Oct 08, 2001 1.393 19.13 13.73
Oct 15, 2001 1.351 18.96 14.03
Oct 22, 2001 1.307 18.02 13.79
Oct 29, 2001 1.277 17.66 13.83
Nov 05, 2001 1.249 17.03 13.63
Nov 12, 2001 1.224 16.36 13.37
Nov 19, 2001 1.208 15.62 12.93
Nov 26, 2001 1.168 14.87 12.73
Dec 03, 2001 1.149 15.76 13.72
Dec 10, 2001 1.136 15.96 14.05
Dec 17, 2001 1.101 15.16 13.77
Dec 24, 2001 1.113 15.59 14.01
Dec 31, 2001 1.137 16.75 14.73
Jan 07, 2002 1.152 17.06 14.81
Jan 14, 2002 1.152 17.60 15.28
Jan 21, 2002 1.146 15.71 13.71
Jan 28, 2002 1.142 15.67 13.72
Feb 04, 2002 1.157 16.53 14.29
Feb 11, 2002 1.148 16.97 14.78
Feb 18, 2002 1.157 18.00 15.56
Feb 25, 2002 1.157 17.54 15.16
Mar 04, 2002 1.185 18.62 15.71
Mar 11, 2002 1.262 20.02 15.86
Mar 18, 2002 1.328 21.62 16.28
Mar 25, 2002 1.382 22.53 16.30
Apr 01, 2002 1.412 23.12 16.37
Apr 08, 2002 1.454 24.00 16.51
Apr 15, 2002 1.446 22.86 15.81
Apr 22, 2002 1.446 22.10 15.28
Apr 29, 2002 1.435 23.34 16.26
May 06, 2002 1.437 24.16 16.81
May 13, 2002 1.431 23.91 16.71
May 20, 2002 1.439 24.69 17.16
May 27, 2002 1.429 24.98 17.48
Jun 03, 2002 1.433 22.01 15.36
Jun 10, 2002 1.417 21.66 15.29
Jun 17, 2002 1.419 21.33 15.03
Jun 24, 2002 1.425 22.92 16.08
Jul 01, 2002 1.433 23.66 16.51
Jul 08, 2002 1.423 23.73 16.68
Jul 15, 2002 1.435 23.94 16.68
Jul 22, 2002 1.451 24.90 17.16
Jul 29, 2002 1.447 24.30 16.79
Aug 05, 2002 1.437 24.28 16.90
Aug 12, 2002 1.435 23.95 16.69
Aug 19, 2002 1.434 24.95 17.40
Aug 26, 2002 1.444 25.87 17.92
Sep 02, 2002 1.436 25.74 17.92
Sep 09, 2002 1.437 25.54 17.77
Sep 16, 2002 1.442 26.29 18.23
Sep 23, 2002 1.436 26.39 18.38
Sep 30, 2002 1.455 27.24 18.72
Oct 07, 2002 1.480 27.08 18.30
Oct 14, 2002 1.481 26.35 17.79
Oct 21, 2002 1.499 26.24 17.51
Oct 28, 2002 1.485 25.11 16.91
Nov 04, 2002 1.489 23.61 15.86
Nov 11, 2002 1.480 22.56 15.24
Nov 18, 2002 1.451 21.46 14.79
Nov 25, 2002 1.423 21.92 15.40
Dec 02, 2002 1.408 22.66 16.09
Dec 09, 2002 1.404 23.48 16.72
Dec 16, 2002 1.407 24.04 17.09
Dec 23, 2002 1.443 26.34 18.25
Dec 30, 2002 1.484 28.23 19.02
Jan 06, 2003 1.487 28.52 19.18
Jan 13, 2003 1.496 28.44 19.01
Jan 20, 2003 1.502 29.21 19.45
Jan 27, 2003 1.515 29.71 19.61
Feb 03, 2003 1.569 29.31 18.68
Feb 10, 2003 1.649 29.46 17.87
Feb 17, 2003 1.701 30.65 18.02
Feb 24, 2003 1.699 30.79 18.12
Mar 03, 2003 1.726 31.35 18.16
Mar 10, 2003 1.752 31.14 17.77
Mar 17, 2003 1.768 30.87 17.46
Mar 24, 2003 1.732 26.51 15.31
Mar 31, 2003 1.692 23.45 13.86
Apr 07, 2003 1.673 24.38 14.57
Apr 14, 2003 1.639 22.69 13.84
Apr 21, 2003 1.618 22.70 14.03
Apr 28, 2003 1.600 23.11 14.44
May 05, 2003 1.556 21.53 13.84
May 12, 2003 1.534 21.83 14.23
May 19, 2003 1.539 23.53 15.29
May 26, 2003 1.528 24.95 16.33
Jun 02, 2003 1.514 24.48 16.17
Jun 09, 2003 1.530 25.50 16.67
Jun 16, 2003 1.558 26.13 16.77
Jun 23, 2003 1.537 25.07 16.31
Jun 30, 2003 1.528 24.95 16.33
Jul 07, 2003 1.530 26.28 17.18
Jul 14, 2003 1.563 26.14 16.72
Jul 21, 2003 1.566 26.90 17.18
Jul 28, 2003 1.558 26.72 17.15
Aug 04, 2003 1.576 26.48 16.80
Aug 11, 2003 1.611 28.20 17.50
Aug 18, 2003 1.668 27.91 16.73
Aug 25, 2003 1.787 27.30 15.28
Sep 01, 2003 1.786 27.84 15.59
Sep 08, 2003 1.758 26.49 15.07
Sep 15, 2003 1.739 25.09 14.43
Sep 22, 2003 1.686 24.09 14.29
Sep 29, 2003 1.635 23.86 14.59
Oct 06, 2003 1.617 25.39 15.70
Oct 13, 2003 1.611 26.69 16.57
Oct 20, 2003 1.612 28.34 17.58
Oct 27, 2003 1.584 26.69 16.85
Nov 03, 2003 1.577 26.23 16.63
Nov 10, 2003 1.547 25.71 16.62
Nov 17, 2003 1.540 27.03 17.55
Nov 24, 2003 1.554 27.94 17.98
Dec 01, 2003 1.533 26.76 17.46
Dec 08, 2003 1.519 26.62 17.52
Dec 15, 2003 1.509 27.46 18.20
Dec 22, 2003 1.528 26.84 17.57
Dec 29, 2003 1.521 27.77 18.26
Jan 05, 2004 1.552 27.63 17.80
Jan 12, 2004 1.603 28.57 17.82
Jan 19, 2004 1.637 29.49 18.01
Jan 26, 2004 1.664 29.28 17.60
Feb 02, 2004 1.660 28.49 17.16
Feb 09, 2004 1.681 27.23 16.20
Feb 16, 2004 1.690 27.10 16.04
Feb 23, 2004 1.730 28.51 16.48
Mar 01, 2004 1.758 29.02 16.51
Mar 08, 2004 1.780 30.42 17.09
Mar 15, 2004 1.767 30.74 17.40
Mar 22, 2004 1.785 31.08 17.41
Mar 29, 2004 1.800 31.09 17.27
Apr 05, 2004 1.822 29.82 16.37
Apr 12, 2004 1.827 29.95 16.39
Apr 19, 2004 1.853 31.05 16.76
Apr 26, 2004 1.853 31.11 16.79
May 03, 2004 1.884 31.71 16.83
May 10, 2004 1.979 33.40 16.88
May 17, 2004 2.055 34.61 16.84
May 24, 2004 2.104 35.56 16.90
May 31, 2004 2.092 34.98 16.72
Jun 07, 2004 2.075 34.83 16.79
Jun 14, 2004 2.029 32.78 16.16
Jun 21, 2004 1.981 32.44 16.38
Jun 28, 2004 1.965 32.43 16.50
Jul 05, 2004 1.939 31.15 16.06
Jul 12, 2004 1.959 33.57 17.14
Jul 19, 2004 1.971 34.30 17.40
Jul 26, 2004 1.948 35.14 18.04
Aug 02, 2004 1.930 36.08 18.69
Aug 09, 2004 1.920 37.51 19.54
Aug 16, 2004 1.917 38.16 19.91
Aug 23, 2004 1.926 39.84 20.69
Aug 30, 2004 1.909 38.58 20.21
Sep 06, 2004 1.893 36.31 19.18
Sep 13, 2004 1.889 36.68 19.42
Sep 20, 2004 1.908 37.01 19.40
Sep 27, 2004 1.959 39.55 20.19
Oct 04, 2004 1.980 41.20 20.81
Oct 11, 2004 2.035 42.02 20.65
Oct 18, 2004 2.077 44.22 21.29
Oct 25, 2004 2.074 44.44 21.43
Nov 01, 2004 2.076 46.00 22.16
Nov 08, 2004 2.045 41.70 20.39
Nov 15, 2004 2.014 39.30 19.51
Nov 22, 2004 1.992 36.74 18.44
Nov 29, 2004 1.989 38.81 19.51
Dec 06, 2004 1.956 35.80 18.30
Dec 13, 2004 1.893 30.30 16.01
Dec 20, 2004 1.861 31.45 16.90
Dec 27, 2004 1.838 34.20 18.61
Jan 03, 2005 1.824 32.07 17.58
Jan 10, 2005 1.837 33.79 18.39
Jan 17, 2005 1.863 36.96 19.84
Jan 24, 2005 1.896 38.16 20.13
Jan 31, 2005 1.953 39.14 20.04
Feb 07, 2005 1.952 37.92 19.43
Feb 14, 2005 1.941 36.58 18.85
Feb 21, 2005 1.948 38.08 19.55
Feb 28, 2005 1.969 40.57 20.60
Mar 07, 2005 2.040 43.38 21.26
Mar 14, 2005 2.098 45.46 21.67
Mar 21, 2005 2.149 46.42 21.60
Mar 28, 2005 2.194 46.97 21.41
Apr 04, 2005 2.258 45.32 20.07
Apr 11, 2005 2.321 47.69 20.55
Apr 18, 2005 2.280 44.23 19.40
Apr 25, 2005 2.279 43.96 19.29
May 02, 2005 2.277 45.90 20.16
May 09, 2005 2.231 43.36 19.44
May 16, 2005 2.206 43.62 19.77
May 23, 2005 2.169 41.17 18.98
May 30, 2005 2.141 41.76 19.50
Jun 06, 2005 2.159 44.79 20.75
Jun 13, 2005 2.173 46.89 21.58
Jun 20, 2005 2.204 47.77 21.67
Jun 27, 2005 2.257 51.22 22.69
Jul 04, 2005 2.268 50.89 22.44
Jul 11, 2005 2.369 52.01 21.95
Jul 18, 2005 2.360 52.57 22.28
Jul 25, 2005 2.333 50.59 21.68
Aug 01, 2005 2.335 51.73 22.15
Aug 08, 2005 2.410 53.65 22.26
Aug 15, 2005 2.592 56.28 21.71
Aug 22, 2005 2.654 57.56 21.69
Aug 29, 2005 2.653 57.66 21.73
Sep 05, 2005 3.117 59.84 19.20
Sep 12, 2005 3.002 58.09 19.35
Sep 19, 2005 2.835 55.86 19.70
Sep 26, 2005 2.851 58.11 20.38
Oct 03, 2005 2.975 57.79 19.43
Oct 10, 2005 2.896 55.47 19.15
Oct 17, 2005 2.775 54.14 19.51
Oct 24, 2005 2.652 53.64 20.23
Oct 31, 2005 2.528 51.84 20.51
Nov 07, 2005 2.424 51.74 21.34
Nov 14, 2005 2.342 50.31 21.48
Nov 21, 2005 2.247 47.86 21.30
Nov 28, 2005 2.200 48.17 21.90
Dec 05, 2005 2.191 48.08 21.94
Dec 12, 2005 2.228 50.11 22.49
Dec 19, 2005 2.255 51.58 22.87
Dec 26, 2005 2.241 49.37 22.03
Jan 02, 2006 2.281 49.56 21.73
Jan 09, 2006 2.371 53.28 22.47
Jan 16, 2006 2.366 55.05 23.27
Jan 23, 2006 2.382 56.45 23.70
Jan 30, 2006 2.402 57.70 24.02
Feb 06, 2006 2.388 57.57 24.11
Feb 13, 2006 2.331 54.70 23.47
Feb 20, 2006 2.286 51.35 22.46
Feb 27, 2006 2.298 51.43 22.38
Mar 06, 2006 2.373 52.96 22.32
Mar 13, 2006 2.408 53.61 22.26
Mar 20, 2006 2.548 53.80 21.11
Mar 27, 2006 2.542 54.18 21.31
Apr 03, 2006 2.631 56.68 21.54
Apr 10, 2006 2.727 58.82 21.57
Apr 17, 2006 2.828 60.99 21.57
Apr 24, 2006 2.960 64.00 21.62
May 01, 2006 2.966 64.89 21.88
May 08, 2006 2.955 65.54 22.18
May 15, 2006 2.992 64.68 21.62
May 22, 2006 2.938 63.38 21.57
May 29, 2006 2.913 62.83 21.57
Jun 05, 2006 2.937 63.84 21.74
Jun 12, 2006 2.951 62.97 21.34
Jun 19, 2006 2.917 61.46 21.07
Jun 26, 2006 2.914 60.89 20.90
Jul 03, 2006 2.979 63.44 21.30
Jul 10, 2006 3.017 66.54 22.06
Jul 17, 2006 3.033 67.24 22.17
Jul 24, 2006 3.048 67.98 22.30
Jul 31, 2006 3.050 66.57 21.83
Aug 07, 2006 3.083 68.13 22.10
Aug 14, 2006 3.047 69.52 22.82
Aug 21, 2006 2.971 66.15 22.27
Aug 28, 2006 2.893 64.86 22.42
Sep 04, 2006 2.777 63.18 22.75
Sep 11, 2006 2.670 60.49 22.66
Sep 18, 2006 2.549 57.28 22.47
Sep 25, 2006 2.429 54.46 22.42
Oct 02, 2006 2.360 53.26 22.57
Oct 09, 2006 2.310 52.75 22.84
Oct 16, 2006 2.274 51.78 22.77
Oct 23, 2006 2.255 51.87 23.00
Oct 30, 2006 2.264 51.61 22.80
Nov 06, 2006 2.246 50.65 22.55
Nov 13, 2006 2.278 51.71 22.70
Nov 20, 2006 2.285 51.50 22.54
Nov 27, 2006 2.292 50.42 22.00
Dec 04, 2006 2.342 53.54 22.86
Dec 11, 2006 2.340 55.55 23.74
Dec 18, 2006 2.366 54.79 23.16
Dec 25, 2006 2.387 55.09 23.08
Jan 01, 2007 2.382 54.00 22.67
Jan 08, 2007 2.354 51.57 21.91
Jan 15, 2007 2.280 47.72 20.93
Jan 22, 2007 2.216 45.29 20.44
Jan 29, 2007 2.213 46.94 21.21
Feb 05, 2007 2.237 49.35 22.06
Feb 12, 2007 2.287 52.15 22.80
Feb 19, 2007 2.341 51.62 22.05
Feb 26, 2007 2.428 52.31 21.54
Mar 05, 2007 2.551 55.18 21.63
Mar 12, 2007 2.605 55.53 21.32
Mar 19, 2007 2.623 54.39 20.74
Mar 26, 2007 2.655 54.02 20.35
Apr 02, 2007 2.753 58.08 21.10
Apr 09, 2007 2.848 60.53 21.25
Apr 16, 2007 2.922 59.21 20.26
Apr 23, 2007 2.917 58.66 20.11
Apr 30, 2007 3.017 59.19 19.62
May 07, 2007 3.097 59.76 19.30
May 14, 2007 3.143 58.06 18.47
May 21, 2007 3.258 60.29 18.51
May 28, 2007 3.250 63.11 19.42
Jun 04, 2007 3.200 62.10 19.41
Jun 11, 2007 3.122 64.10 20.53
Jun 18, 2007 3.057 63.45 20.76
Jun 25, 2007 3.029 65.69 21.69
Jul 02, 2007 3.005 65.51 21.80
Jul 09, 2007 3.026 67.65 22.36
Jul 16, 2007 3.092 70.63 22.84
Jul 23, 2007 3.005 71.71 23.86
Jul 30, 2007 2.926 71.36 24.39
Aug 06, 2007 2.888 72.19 25.00
Aug 13, 2007 2.821 68.09 24.14
Aug 20, 2007 2.832 66.29 23.41
Aug 27, 2007 2.796 65.16 23.30
Sep 03, 2007 2.840 66.47 23.40
Sep 10, 2007 2.862 68.93 24.08
Sep 17, 2007 2.835 70.24 24.78
Sep 24, 2007 2.860 72.62 25.39
Oct 01, 2007 2.838 73.50 25.90
Oct 08, 2007 2.821 73.65 26.11
Oct 15, 2007 2.813 73.39 26.09
Oct 22, 2007 2.873 77.84 27.09
Oct 29, 2007 2.921 79.47 27.21
Nov 05, 2007 3.060 83.69 27.35
Nov 12, 2007 3.158 86.88 27.51
Nov 19, 2007 3.148 85.21 27.07
Nov 26, 2007 3.147 87.93 27.94
Dec 03, 2007 3.113 87.22 28.02
Dec 10, 2007 3.053 81.95 26.84
Dec 17, 2007 3.050 82.44 27.03
Dec 24, 2007 3.032 83.41 27.51
Dec 31, 2007 3.104 85.52 27.55
Jan 07, 2008 3.159 88.41 27.99
Jan 14, 2008 3.119 89.60 28.73
Jan 21, 2008 3.070 85.36 27.80
Jan 28, 2008 3.030 82.66 27.28
Feb 04, 2008 3.030 85.36 28.17
Feb 11, 2008 3.011 83.21 27.64
Feb 18, 2008 3.092 85.50 27.65
Feb 25, 2008 3.180 89.61 28.18
Mar 03, 2008 3.212 91.74 28.56
Mar 10, 2008 3.273 95.15 29.07
Mar 17, 2008 3.332 99.76 29.94
Mar 24, 2008 3.310 99.67 30.11
Mar 31, 2008 3.339 96.65 28.95
Apr 07, 2008 3.381 95.56 28.26
Apr 14, 2008 3.438 101.22 29.44
Apr 21, 2008 3.557 105.27 29.60
Apr 28, 2008 3.653 109.25 29.91
May 05, 2008 3.663 108.98 29.75
May 12, 2008 3.771 112.96 29.95
May 19, 2008 3.840 116.32 30.29
May 26, 2008 3.986 120.16 30.15
Jun 02, 2008 4.026 121.92 30.28
Jun 09, 2008 4.090 117.82 28.81
Jun 16, 2008 4.134 125.28 30.30
Jun 23, 2008 4.131 125.93 30.48
Jun 30, 2008 4.146 128.02 30.88
Jul 07, 2008 4.165 133.60 32.08
Jul 14, 2008 4.164 133.32 32.02
Jul 21, 2008 4.118 134.44 32.65
Jul 28, 2008 4.010 122.59 30.57
posted by Perry Eidelbus at
12:01 AM
6 Comments:
Thanks for the information contained in spread sheet. Please keep it current.
I agree with you and wrote a similar blog a few months ago. Please check it out for a different analysis:
http://www.peterdolph.com/2009/07/are-oil-companies-screwing-us-over.html
I would have to say, the person writing this article is way off base. If you simply look at the percentages, you will see gas price gauging is occurring right now, July 2011. Gas is around 3.60 and oil is around 98$ per bar.
This equates to roughly %34 ration gas to oil, which is far far higher than any other in the past!
The ration should stay the same, then we are being sold gas at a fair price in relation to oil.
We are being taken advantage of for CERTAIN and this chart proves it.
Thanks for the stats, but your take on the situation is way way off base.
Even if the pumping stations are hurting, the suppliers are the crooks and are making way more profit due to higher gas prices with lower oil prices.
Oil should be at least $109 per barrel to see what we are seeing.
I would have to say, that you should keep your mouth shut about things you don't understand. Like energy prices.
Right now the ratio is 28.17 (gas $3.74, oil $105.36, from the same data tables I cited above). Where are YOUR stats from, hmm?
In other words, the situation is the same as three years ago: oil prices have increased faster than pump prices. Gasoline is 2.94 times what it was on 1/6/1997, whereas crude is 4.6 times what it was on the same date.
Good lord, IT IS STILL JUNE. What reality do you live in, you goddamn fool? Why should we regard anything you say when you talk about "gauging" or "ration"? For the love of God, do you even understand your errors there? Did you pick those words up from some social studies high school teacher who harped for an hour about how much he had to spend to fill up his Volvo? Let me guess, you blame "speculators" too?
If you think the price is unfair, then don't buy it. Go ride your bicycle, and go troll somewhere else. On the other hand, those of us who use gasoline have no choice but to use devalued dollars from Ben Bernanke, and to pay taxes to the federal government (who reaps far more than oil companies do in profit, go look it up).
Yes and no. Your assessment that the price ration between gasoline and oil has actually dropped is correct, but, that isn't the ration that is important in this case. Understanding the "value" of a dollar and how inflation influences that value is difficult. My suggestion is that the actual cost of a gallon of gasoline is related to the income of those purchasing it. For example if someone makes $100 a week a gallon of gas that costs $10 is expensive because it costs 10% of the person/family income. However if that gallon of gasoline costs 1% of the income the gasoline may be considered cheap or expensive depending on the prior percentage of income. In other words the concepts of "cheap" or "expensive" depend on the ratio between price and income rather than price of a precursor versus price of a consumer product. The cost of gasoline in comparison to average income is much higher so people consider gasoline expensive.
First, you may not want to leave comments on a post over three years old.
Second, though it's the only way you can make a point, stop trying to move the goalposts. The original Post article talked about absolute prices, so I was also talking about absolute prices. That's the only sensible metric here, because talking about "relative" prices is, well, too relative to be a useful metric. Do you see economists analyzing oil and gas in terms of income? Do you see traders working with relative percentages?
And if someone really spends 10% of income on gasoline, the person needs to get a better job, or be more efficient in commuting. It's not up to the rest of us to make things "affordable" for a few.
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