oil-lighting?

i drive a car with an internal combustion engine. i plan for my next car to be a hybrid or an electric vehicle, but for now, i am beholden to the gas companies who employ the "rockets and feathers" theory to gasoline prices. meaning, prices climb quickly (like a rocket) when the cost of crude oil (the primary ingredient to gasoline) rises, but then fall slowly (like a feather) when the cost of crude oil drops.  i understand the need for a bit of a lag, but last month it seemed like the feathers were still attached to the birds flying in the sky.

here's a card from 2009 upper deck 20th anniversary

that notes gas prices were high in the summer of 2008. the back explains things a bit more

even though upper deck can't spell "barrel" correctly twice on the same card.

so, with a barrel of crude oil hitting $147 a barrel in 2008, the average price for a gallon of gas peaked in the united states at $4.14 a gallon, according to the american automobile association. we passed that mark earlier this year, although not if you consider inflation.

this year, the cost of a barrel of crude oil again passed the $100 mark around the first of march, and gas prices rose as well. both peaked in mid-march at around $125 a barrel and $4.30 per gallon. when i wrote this post last saturday, the cost of an opec barrel of crude oil was about $100 according to statista, but the average cost of a gallon of gas was still $4.08 (again, according to the american automobile association). that's about 20 cents per gallon more than it cost when that barrel was last trading at $100 in early march. still, it would seem that the feathers are finally falling back to earth.

thanks upper deck, for making a card about oil and gas prices.