Gasoline is one of the many conversation starters anywhere you go. People have different opinions on why gasoline prices are fluctuating at such a rapid pace. Some Americans have chosen a way of thinking towards the prices. Whether it be making up rumors or just plainly trash talking towards our government. You make ask yourself the same questions many economist do, why has the price of oil been dropping so fast? Why now? This a complicated question, but it boils down to the simple economics of supply and demand. Supply and demand means a relationship between how much of a particular product is available and how much of it people want, and especially the way that this affects the level of pricing. Now of course there would be a shortage of gasoline during the summer time when everyone is traveling
Brent crude, the main international benchmark, was trading around $48 a barrel. The American benchmark was at around $45 a barrel (Clifford Krauss). Regular gas nationally now averages around $2.65 a gallon, compared to $3.45 a year ago. Now the law of demand states consumers will buy more of the product if the price falls; of course when gas was at it's lowest peak everyone was driving around with there a/c on. They would use gasoline more often since it was not hurting their pockets as much. Now there is some instances where other goods and services can drop from gasoline prices. This can include a lawn mowing services and automotive business.
There's a few who benefit from the price drops including any motorist, diesel, heating oil, and natural gas; have fallen sharply. For example households are most likely to spend $750 or less on gas this year, all due to the oil prices. Therefore any consumers which can include business owners, single/multi family home-owners and even a simple gas station! In a way, gasoline prices are rising up as refineries do maintenance to switch to more expensive spring and summer gasoline
Scherer, Ron. "US to Tap Strategic Petroleum Reserve to Drive Gas Prices down." The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 23 June 2011. Web. 09 Apr. 2012.
...oline is affected by many different factors. The biggest factor is crude oil, but the supply and demand of crude oil will ultimately determine the price of gasoline. The supply and demand of crude oil and gasoline are also affected by several factors. The price is continually increasing and the supply is becoming harder to produce and deliver. So it seems we, the United States, need to find a way to slow down our fuel consumption and decrease our demand. This may be the only way to bring down the price of gasoline. I know I would not mind, because then I could use the extra $40 to buy a couple more DVDs for the kids to watch while we are running around town in the Expedition.
The gas prices started dropping so low that people are available to fill up their cars with gas. There is a good side of these gas prices going down but there is also a bad side. We can say that the good side is people are actually excited because they spend less money on gas and have extra money to spend it on other things. The bad side of the gas price is people are losing their jobs and they sometimes they can't afford for their bills or as simple as not being able to eat.
Fuel prices is an area of concern for the motor carrier industry. Fuel prices are at an all-time high, driving the industry to make drastic changes. Individuals in the industry believe that by reducing the demand for fuel is the best way to address the current fuel issue. One of the leading alternatives to this fuel issue could be natural gas.
Currently, the most important factor in the rise of gas prices is the increasing cost of crude oil. Unfortunately, the United States has three percent of the world’s oil reserves. (Horsley) In 2009, the United States was third in crude oil production as well as the world’s largest petroleum consumer. (e. I. Administration) Such consumption required and still requires the United States to import petroleum/crude oil from other countries.
The article by Mike Moffatt shows the price elasticity of demand for gasoline. According to Molly Espey the average price elasticity of demand for gasoline in the short- run is-0.26 and -0.58 In the long-run, which is a 10% raise in the price of gasoline lowers quantity demanded by 2.6% in the short- run and 5.8% in the long- run.Also, there are a studies were conducted by Phil Goodwin, Joyce Dargay and Mark Hanly at review of income and price elastics in the demand for road traffic and each of them has different study. Furthermore, the realized elasticities depend on factors such as the timeframe and locations that the study covers. If the gas taxes will rise, will cause consumption to decrease.
There are certainly pros and cons to the falling gas prices. I can only sound very selfish when speaking about this topic since my family is constantly on a budget to make ends meet. My father suffered an unexpectedly heart conditioned in 2010 called Neuro-Cardio Genic Syncope, that forced the cardiologist to discontinue him from working and abruptly end his working career. This was very devastating to not only my dad, since he was always the breadwinner, but to us as a family.
I do believe that gasoline is very inelastic. The reason I say that gasoline is an inelastic product is because changes in prices have small influence on its demand. For example, even if the price of gasoline triples the next day, people will still buy gasoline to get to their destination. Current prices on gasoline are likely to have a larger impact on consumer spending, and a smaller impact on the quantity of gasoline bought. Instead, gasoline prices would most likely affect other areas of spending like entertainment, electronics, vacations, and etc. In the short term, it would be difficult to reduce gas consumption. It would be much more profitable to cancel “road trips”, or buy a car with better gas mileage. However, some people aren’t
The cost of fuel had risen by 6 cents to 158.1 cents in the week of January 5, which is quite a fast rise in price. It was reported by CommSec to be the fastest increase in fuel price records since 2004. The price of unleaded petrol as set by Singapore is the primary benchmark of petrol pricing in Australia (Bureau of Resource & Energy Economics 2014). The main reason why the price of fuel has risen is due to the fact that the Australia dollar has been depreciating and gasoline prices in Singapore have been rising.
I wake up to my phone ringing non-stop, and my roommate, Max yelling “Wake up!” Although Max has a mild form of dementia, he usually sets a reminder to wake me up just to make sure I got to New Jersey in time. “Coming!” I yell. As I quickly grab my bags, I rush downstairs and prepare to leave. “Ryan, where are you going again?” Max says. “I’m going to New Jersey for a temporary job as an accountant.” “Why didn’t you tell me?” Max says, clearly getting angry. “I was packing yesterday and confirming that I had the job. I’m sorry.” “How is rent getting paid this month? The landlord still counts it as two people because your stuff is here.” Max asks. “I already have it taken care of. I really have to leave. I’ll see you this summer!” “No, R..” but the door slamming cut him off. As I got into the car, I remembered what Max did last time I cut him off. He had taken some of my stuff and burnt it into ashes. I brushed it off as if it wouldn’t happen again. Hopefully he wouldn’t overreact this time.
Economic: Gasoline prices, along with rising energy prices are the major concern. Jet fuel prices are at $2.80/gallon! However, many people would rather have items shipped rather than spend money on gas to go and buy the item.
The main reason for the price increase is that OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) has decided to cut back on its oil production. What is the reason for this? Simply stated, OPEC knows that they have the United States under their control in terms of what price they want to sell crude oil to us at, and how much they want to ship. With the present economic prosperity in the U.S., it didn’t take long for OPEC to seize the opportunity to make more money by cutting production of crude oil, and thus forcing consumers to pay more for fuel. Just how much higher are prices you ask? “Crude-oil prices in early March hit $34 a barrel, while a year earlier it was selling for $12 a barrel, which is nearly a 75% price increase since last year. This equates to an additional 48 cents a gallon” (Logistics Management 15).
Finally, many car companies make more efficient cars and hybrid cars. Companies trying to boost their sales through efficient cars and lower gas cost for the consumer. Because of the higher prices of gas consumers are looking for more efficient cars. Gas prices left big companies like Ford, Toyota, and Dodge slow which it had a direct effect in the economy and the workforce. Many people lost their jobs over the passed six months because of the effect of the slow economy.
The drastically increasing prices of fossil fuels and gasoline were making it harder for a middle income people to afford conventional vehicles in the near future. The gasoline is a natural resource which is reducing the supply of our reserves every second. In order to keep the fuel prices in control...
A vehicle is one of the biggest purchases a person will ever make. Over the years, the prices of an automobile have increased due to the rise of inflation. Due to a price index, the price of an automobile changes over a certain period of time. Economists compare averages of automobiles to calculate the cost of each vehicle that presents itself on a car lot. When all of the above is calculated within the purchase of an automobile, it affects every area of making the automobile to selling the automobile. All of these factors are impacted together for the automobile industry as a whole.