they can.

Do they really need a reason?

Basically, when the price starts to drop, they shut down refineries for "maintenance" without building up any reserves. It's like fucking magic, the price goes up along with their profits.

And spring break for many people is on the horizon.

And we are stuck footing their profit margin.

closing its east coast facility or something like that. Maybe the gas companies should just spin a fixed Jeopardy wheel on TV every night and spare us the made-up "reasons". Put truth as categories - because we just want bigger profits, because we are pretending refineries in California are so damaged they are inoperable, whatever.

http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/06/news/economy/gas-prices/

snip

because the economy is improving

snip

several refineries have either shut down or are about to for maintenance before the switch to summer gasoline,

snip

OPEC production cuts

snip

Investors are moving their cash into energy futures, attracted by the improving economy and potentially lower gasoline supplies.
In early December, 11.7% of the most commonly traded U.S. oil futures contracts were held by investment funds betting the price would go higher, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. As of last week, that number jumped to 15%.
That money-movement ritual happens every spring, according to Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service. Each year, though, it seems to be happening earlier and earlier, he said.


snip

Thanks to an oil and gas production boom in this country, peak gasoline prices are expected to top out somewhere between $3.50 a gallon and $3.90 a gallon this year, Kloza said. Last year's top price was $3.94 a gallon, set in early April.

That's what I call it anyway. Used to be the network news in lockstep would give us the oil lie of the day. Unrest here, refinery fire there, possible fear everywhere. Now they don't even bother. They have assumed control.

I fully expect gasoline prices to settle out in the five to six dollar a gallon range. That's why I bought a hybrid about six weeks ago, when the incentives were at their maximum, and uncertainty over the fiscal cliff was at its height.

Maybe the rising prices are one of the signs we're coming out of recession. All that money that the Fed pumped into the economy with quantitative easing has got to come around and bite us all in the ass at some point.

....it does this every year, but in February? Is it because of warmer weather? BTW, this is the excuse I heard on TV.

Gas prices seem to flucuate based upon the finances of the populaton - there is always a big jump at paydays and the beginning of the month. I assumed this latest jump was based on the fact that people are getting their income tax refund checks now.

Where is the FTC in investigating collusion? It used to be that there couldn't be less than three businesses doing the same type of work and there can't, under any cercumstances, be dialog between them.

There is also an influx of speculators that is driving the price up. Sounds like energy should be more in the public domain and not controlled by "profit".

One fact I know is that it's the time of year for stations to switch to the "summer blend," has to do with pollution standards, and that is more expensive. That has to be in place by June 1st.

When prices started going up, I found a site called GasBuddy on the internets. (I'm in NY, and we have high prices.) People from across the US and Canada post local gas prices and it's invaluable when you're looking for the most reasonable price. They're also articles related to gas and prices, which I've read and learned a lot.

Welcome to DU, beetle1a! It's great to have you with us!

http://www.gasbuddy.com/