Why do gas prices rise at the pump as soon as the price of crude on international markets rises?
461013
the gas companies have greedy businessmen behind them milking this for all it's worth.  they are lying to the public, and making record profits!!!  its disgusting.  no one in this government will take a stand on this.  i think that they don't want to bite the hand that feeds them(money)!!!
332984
Hmmm...Not really sure.\n\nI know that the "price freeze", if instituted by the government, would only apply to the actual sale of gas.  The price of oil COULD continue to rise (the foreign stuff (a LOT)), which would mean less of a profit for the oil companies, who buy the oil & refine it into gasoline.\n\nI can't exactly aswer your question, but a price freeze may not help.
808497
Oil prices are not very elastic.  Once demand exceeds supply, the price will skyrocket.  Excess production capacity is marginal supply that comes into play when the price goes up.  It may be a well that costs more to operate until oil is at $70 a barrell.  If demand is really great, then this capacity is used up.
87968
The price of gas changes because the price of oil changes, due to OPEC basically setting the price. Gas companies raise their prices accordingly, based on what they estimate gas will cost in the future (6 months or so), so they have the cash on hand when they need to buy oil to refine into gasoline.
348677
The way gas prices are set is extremely complex, it depends on a variety of factors. It's too difficult to explain in a few sentences but here's a link that does a very good job explaining how the prices are set:\nhttp://money.howstuffworks.com/gas-price.htm\n\nIn general ,however, you can't look at something simply in terms of price. \nLet's take Norway for example, the salaries there are higher then in the US. Also the main way people people move around is via public transportation ,not cars, hence, the demand for gas is much lower, which in turn drives the prices up. Higher taxes and enviormental processing requirements also drive up the cost significantly. Additionally, the Norwegian government is very conservative when it come to money, although, they have the biggest oil reserve in the Europe, they choose to save it for a rainy day rather then sell it cheaply to their citizen (like Venezuela and Brazil does). They are the richest country in the world for a reason.
1142097
There are a bunch of factors. Disruptions of oil in Nigeria, The iraq war, the Iran stand off with the world (In particular the US), increasing demand of oil in the world ( in particular China and India), and other minor factors. \nIts a simple economic thing, the more people demand, prices go up. As China and India start developing, they need more and more fuel to function, they demand more, in fact look at their population, china and india make 1/3 of the worlds population. This demand drives the price up. Iraq war, is anothe rmajor factor. Everytime, US and Iran have a heated battle of words, prices will go up, speculations make prices go up. Analysts predict prices will go up, hope this helpls
525345
In part, gas prices are determined by supply and demand.  Prices are also determined by how much foreign oil is purchased and then passed on to consumers. \nPoliticians and oil companies would have us believe that these two are the primary reasons for the increase in fuel prices, but this is because most Americans do not really look very hard at facts surrounding them on a daily basis, or do not put them together. The 1950's had gas at around 22 cents a gallon.  Yet even with our greater technology, the much increased ease of production, transport, and refinement should have us keeping pace with prices still around $1.00, with the cost of exploration being one of the few legitimate reasons for increasing the prices...of course combined with the reasons previously mentioned.  But this is not the case.  \nWhen hurricane Katrina approached the coast, the price of gas rose over 10 cents a gallon - before - the hurricane had done any damage.  Afterward, when production resumed its normal levels, prices did not subside.  Instead they continued to rise.  The second hurricane did little or no damage, but prices rose again...in the same pattern.  For a dozen years or more, oil companies have followed a pattern of every six to eight months, raising prices until public outcry became strong enough, then when it was lowered ten or twelve cents the public sighed a great sigh; while not really paying attention to the fact that the price was still ten or fifteen cents higher than it was.  \nThe hurricanes, combined with the merger of giant oil companies into mega corporations have removed the checks and balances that healthy competition made in keeping oil prices down.  From 14 to 36 billion in profits, these oil companies answer to no one.  Their CEO's hide under the guise that no one can specifically point their finger at one of them and lay the blame, and our government cannot do anything to one and not the others, so nothing is done.  The oil companies state to the senators that their prices have increased slower than any other comodity.  Yet the simple reason behind this eludes our leaders...the reason...because the oil companies are the catalyst for the rise in every other price.  A farmer, with a tiny edge of profit, cannot afford to absorb the gas prices as they are, and so the prices snowball into every other thing linked to them.  So, why do prices rise?  Well, aside from the legitimate reasons mentioned in the beginning, it is because there is no one who tells them that they have to stop.
525316
The short term trend of the price of oil is dependent on speculators' expectations. They drive the short term price of oil. \n\nWhat are some events that might make the price go higher?\n\na fall in the price of the dollar. Oil is priced in dollars so a drop in the value of the dollar will mean a rise in the price of oil.\n\nglobal events that relate to the supply of oil. More instability in Nigeria will increase the price of oil. Election results in Mexico will effect the price of oil. Events in Venezuela will effect the price of oil. What GWB does or does not do will effect the price of oil. A successful terrorist attack on the Saudi refineries will drive the price of oil through the roof.
507433
Oil prices are set by the market.  In other words, if people are willing to spend $72.00 a barrel, then why would oil companies charge less.  The market corrects itself.  If the prices are too high, people will purchase less oil.  If the prices are too low, the miniscule profit margin that the oil companies already face will diminish.  That is why we pay what we pay.  It is what it is WORTH to buyers.  Simple as that.  If you want lower gas prices, take the bus for a while and wait until the market decides that oil is not worth as much anymore.
426738
Year after year gas prices go up in the summer and fall in the winter.
502628
Not that I am for this--But dear it wouldn't matter and why you ask---well here is an article--this is starting to open up a new can of worms--please understand--Anyone in the world could have all the oil in the world..and it really wouldn't matter at this point...\n\n$3-a-gallon gas: Blame Washington, not Big Oil\nWhat's driving up gas prices? It's not just higher crude costs; it's new regulations.\nNelson D. Schwartz\nMay 3, 2006: 2:20 PM EDT\n\n\n(FORTUNE Magazine) - With gas prices roaring past $3 a gallon and consumer fury rising even faster, Congress and the White House are engaged in a Kabuki-like ritual: pointing fingers at each other over who's to blame, while furiously attacking Big Oil for reaping gargantuan profits - as drivers get hosed at the pump.\n\nIf the politicians really want to figure out who's responsible for the latest round of price increases, though, they'd be better off looking in the mirror. That's because the rise isn't only due to higher crude costs. It's also fallout from some little-noticed provisions in the energy bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush last summer.\n\nBuried in the 551-page energy bill - which was supposed to ease energy shortages, not worsen them - were new regulations governing what additives go into gasoline and how it's refined. Corn-based ethanol is replacing the petroleum-derived additive MTBE, but Congress timed this logistically tricky switchover to occur just as demand for gasoline peaked ahead of the summer driving season - right about now.\n\nThe end result is an extra strain on the refining and distribution system when it can least afford it.\n\n"It's too late now, but Congress has consistently failed to sequence regulatory requirements in a responsible fashion," says Bob Slaughter, president of the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association.\n\nAdds Larry Goldstein of the Petroleum Industry Research Foundation: "The gasoline crisis is made in the U.S.A., not in Iran or Venezuela or Nigeria. At least half the increase in gasoline prices is due to unintended consequences of the energy bill, but no one in Washington wants to admit that."\n\nIndeed, while crude prices have risen 21% since the end of 2005, gasoline is up 37% - a sign of just how stretched the system is. Congress's mistake, says Goldstein, was setting the new law to go into effect 270 days after it was signed - May 5 - rather than waiting until fall, when gas demand is typically on the downswing.\n\nNow the big question is, How high can gas go? Well, perhaps the only good thing that can be said about paying three bucks per gallon is that it seems to be slowing consumption - which should, in turn, reduce prices. Over a four-week period in April, says oil analyst Jamal Qureshi of consulting firm PFC Energy, U.S. gasoline demand dropped by half a percent, to just over nine million barrels a day. That may not sound like much, but it's a reversal from the 1.7% average annual increase in gas consumption the U.S. has experienced over the past decade. If $3 is indeed the tipping point at which consumers change their behavior and alter their driving habits, it's the one silver lining in an otherwise very dark cloud for drivers.\n\nThe wildcard in this scenario, of course, is the increasing risk of a military confrontation with Iran. If that happens, says Qureshi, "all bets are off." Given that crude oil accounts for 55% of the cost of each gallon of gas (refining accounts for 22%, taxes for 19%, and distribution and marketing for 4%), an upward spike in crude oil would push gas up even if the bottlenecks caused by the energy bill ease this summer.\n\nThat's why Red Cavaney, president of the American Petroleum Institute, says the answer in the short term is conservation. Washington is indeed being turned upside down when it's left to Cavaney, Big Oil's chief lobbyist, to talk conservat
64539
Gas/Oil everytime anything happens anywhere prices go up.\n\n\nGuy 1 "sir a mouse farted in Juarez"\nGuy 2 "raise the price of fuel now!!!"
18764
Stocks in public transport\nAs the price of oil goes up less people can afford to run their cars and so take the bus or train so their profits increase.\n\nStock in Alternative Fuels\nAs the price of oil goes up people begin to look for cheap forms of fuel, as the popularity of those fuels increases so their profits increase.
927848
Gas futures rose as a result of the Democrats taking office, knowing full well that they do not comprehend the importance of this resource!\n\nThanks so much for asking! I'm glad I could clear that up for you!
202996
I have! Oil prices go down and gas goes up. Supplies increase the price at the pump goes up. The 2nd biggest oil deposit in the world comes under U.S. control.... You get the idea. Enough is enough. His friends have all made a buck on this insanity, let's go back to $1.00 a gallon.
302739
Poltical instability in the middle East is a cause for higher gas prices. It's ironic that Iraq is one of the least expensive places to buy gas in the world. The oil companies can't just jack up prices whenever they want, regardless of what you may have heard.
806984
I believe the Bush administration Is the cause for the increase in gas prices. Do you remember when the Vice President had a secret meeting with the oil big wigs? This meeting was so hush-hush the president went to the supreme court to have the minutes sealed. soon after gas prices went through the roof. The Bush started the war in Iran. We had Gulf coast storms. There were a lot of factors but mainly it is greed by the oil companies. Oil companies will site market conditions as the reason for gas prices increasing. What they wont tell you is that they caused those conditions. ask them why did they close oil refineries down in Calif. and not build new ones?