Real price of Gas:

[jrittenhouse]

Back when I was young - we’ll say when I was 10, 1967 - gasoline generally cost about $0.32 per gallon.  Gas Wars would occasionally come up where there’d be a thrash over what sort of extras (glasses with a fill-up, etc.) would pull the business in - and sometimes, it was brute-force-drop-the-price.  I can remember seeing an occasional drop to say

Comments

[interactiveleaf]

"The rest of it" depends on who you ask.

Compare: The scam behind the rise in oil, food prices

Speculation on the futures market, rather than supply and demand, is driving up costs, analysts say.

And Contrast: Are Speculators Gouging Us At The Pump?

There is no need to repair to conspiracy to answer the question about why gasoline prices are going up. The loss of Libyan crude--about 2% of global supply--has reduced the amount of oil available in the market and gasoline prices track global crude oil prices. Prices must necessarily rise to reduce global oil consumption because we can't consume what isn't there. How much do prices need to rise to reduce oil consumption by 2%? It takes a big increase in gasoline prices to get us to drive even a little less. Economists estimate that prices must rise anywhere from 10 to 20 times the percentage reduction in quantity to reduce demand enough to equal the lower supply. Thus for a 2% supply reduction, prices must rise between 20% and 40%. Average gasoline prices have risen 20% since early February, on the low end of what economists predict. So put away the torches and pitchforks.