Why do gasoline prices seem to go up very quickly after crude oil costs increase and come down very slowly when crude costs decline?
This question raises the so-called “rocket/feather” phenomenon that is a common concern of motorists who believe gasoline prices go up like a rocket when crude oil costs increase and come down like a feather when crude costs decline.
Although experts have debated this topic for years, at least one study has concluded that gasoline and diesel prices generally track changes in crude oil costs.
Specifically, in 2003 the Energy Information Administration (EIA) took an in-depth look ...Read More »
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Energy Facts
- 64.7 million gallons – Amount of gasoline consumed every day in the western US (excluding Alaska)
- 21 million gallons – Amount of diesel fuel consumed every day in the western US (excluding Alaska)
- Crude oil costs drive retail gasoline prices - Crude oil costs comprise between half and three-fourths of the cost of a gallon of gasoline in the U.S.
- More than 510,000 jobs in the western United States, with a payroll of more than $27 billion, depend on the petroleum industry
Recent proposals to resolve California’s approximately $24 billion budget shortfall once again include a nearly 10 percent tax on oil produced in the state. Similar proposals have previously been rejected by the governor, past ...
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Severance Tax Proposal
Earlier this year, WSPA President Joe Sparano sat down with API's Jane Van Ryan to discuss a proposed 9.9 percent oil severance tax then being proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. That tax increase proposal, dropped by Gov. Schwarzenegger, has resurfaced as part of a legislative plan to balance the state budget.
