Gas, the Obligatory Complaining

Tuesday 16 August 2005 | general

I know — we’re all suffering from gas prices. But it’s been ridiculous around here since we moved. At one station here in Asheville it was $2.11 about three weeks ago. This station sells gas mixed with ethanol, and so it was about ten cents cheaper than every other place around. Then it jumped up to $2.23. A few days later: $2.32. A week after that, last Friday: $2:44.

As of yesterday: $2:52.

That’s an 18% increase in about three weeks. How is that possible? Has the price of a barrel of gas increased proportionately in the last three weeks? No. It’s finally broken the $60 a barrel mark, and seems to be bearing down on $70 a barrel, but it hasn’t gone up that much.

It’s a good thing there’s not a milk cartel to go along with the oil and drug cartels. Can you imagine if the prices of everything fluctuated this badly?

2 Comments

  1. I liked the quote in the article:

    “Companies that produce and refine oil have been reaping bigger profits[. …] Exxon Mobil Corp., reported last month that its second-quarter profit was up 32 percent, to $7.64 billion.”

    And yet they say their refineries are having trouble keeping up? How many refineries could you build for $7.6 billion…

    Perhaps the president could answer that question.