Retail Gasoline Price Changes

Gasoline prices are set within OPEC supply controls which adjust to demand. They also are affected by the value of the U.S. dollar.because they’re priced in dollars.

Gas stations actually have little to do with pricing. Stations earn an average between 10 and 15 cents on a gallon. When prices climb, gas stations see their profit margins shrink in order to remain competitive; they then earn less per gallon.

Their credit card fees are about 2 ½% of all purchases, a significant factor affecting their margins.

Furthermore, gasoline prices go up faster than they go down. That is the way supply and demand normally influence wholesale and retail gas pricing. Yet gas station operators usually are blamed when high gas prices occur. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at Twitter.)