Whats the deal with petrol/gas? Why is it so high?

Question

Whats the deal with petrol/gas? Why is it so high?

Answer 1

When crude oil costs $2.75 or so per gallon on the open market, what do you expect?

All the costs in between don't make that price any cheaper.

Answer 2

so some rich greedy ####er can live in a house so big that he will probably never get to see all the rooms,

Answer 3

about 60% of what we pay for fuel goes to the government. oil prices are rising but the government wont lower the tax we pay them on fuel because they know we all need our cars so we'll continue to pay.

Answer 4

Ooooh I'm so tired of the "rich gas producer" excuse / rant !! The material we make PETROL from... crude oil has risen in price at the same rate.

The WHY is a result of that standard, classical rule of Economics: SUPPLY and DEMAND !!

Demand has increased SHARPLY worldwide... China and India in particularly have doubled and tripled their consumption of OIL and refined POL products (Petrol, Oils, Lubricants).  AND the "West" hasn't decreased it's demands either.

SO... the demand is there... the supply is set partly by OPEC, partly by non-OPEC governments, and by nature.  One of the SAD facts in the USA is we don't have the refining capacity (because all our refineries are over 35 years old), so we pay extra to have gas refined OUTSIDE the country and shipped in.  Conflicts in Nigeria, Venezuela and Iran's threats have raised prices MORE than any action in Iraq.

Then there are the TAXES applied, and if the USA had taxes like most of Europe we'd REALLY hear screams !!  Then again... those taxes pay for infrastructure construction and repairs: roads, bridges, etc.