[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Bull

Proof.

Not hard to find. Not even hard to understand.

I repeat. What is your agenda in spreading blatant lies?

[italianquaker]

I ask what gas station are you affiliated with?

[IronJack]

Looking at your chart, the retail price seems to follow the price of crude fairly accurately, until about Christmas of last year, when the current slide began. Although current retail reflects a decline, crude prices reflect a precipitous drop. The margin between the two prices indeces is almost zero now, meaning that, among other things, we are paying the retail equivalent of about $61 a barrel, while the cost of crude is below $50 a barrel.

No doubt the retail price will continue to decline, but what accounts for the narrowing of the margin since Christmas?

[LibertarianInExile]

Actually, reviewing your chart actually shows him to be right, if the statement you're arguing about is that consumer price rises faster than it falls. The chart shows gas price rises almost directly corresponding with the crude price, but falls almost always smooth and slowly.

I don't mean to rain on your parade, HTB, but the conventional wisdom seems to be true based on this chart. In fact, this makes the gas stations look even worse, because as prices stabilize at a higher level, their margin compared to the barrel price would seem to similarly stabilize and drop. This chart doesn't seem to show that at all (note the gap between red and blue shrinking and widening, mostly as crude price drops). Only when crude's in freefall do gas prices seem to drop relative to crude.

Again, this is simply based upon the chart you posted. Historically, you might be 100% correct.