I'm wondering if anyone can provide a reason for diesel prices rising so dramatically in the last decade. I remember when it was roughly half the price of gasoline, but now it's somehow even higher. Yes, of course, the answer will revolve around corporate greed, but why now? What changed?
I believe it is a result of increased demand and limited refinery capacity, making it a classic supply and demand situation.
I don't think that's it though. Demand hasn't risen all that much, and its been much more than long enough to adapt the supply.
In the UK at least http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-2648508/Why-diesel-expensive-unleaded-Britain.html In the US http://www.nacsonline.com/YourBusin...hy-Diesel-Often-Costs-More-Than-Gasoline.aspx 1. Seasonality 2. Strong Foreign Demand 3. Increasing Domestic Demand 4. Introduction of Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) 5. Taxes
However https://www.quora.com/Why-is-the-price-of-diesel-cheaper-than-petrol-in-the-major-cities-of-India
So more a function of government tax and environmental policies and world demand than corporate greed I'm afraid Commie Cat Face.
I do not have proof, but my theory is that the oil companies realized that truckers - the main market for diesel - cannot do much about their consumption. They can't carpool, can't decide to cancel a vacation trip like auto traffic and gas user. Truckers also don't have as big a political voice as gas users. They can sock it to truckers, and not much truckers can do about it. If they jack up gas prices too much, people put pressure on politicians and they may lose some tax credits.
Sorry Monte, your sources don't explain the problem. The tax and ULSD account for a .16 rise, while ive personally watched over 1.00 difference between the two disappear - and that was before gasoline tripled in price. I sincerely doubt that any increase in global demand will account for that - especially when you consider that the US imports almost all of its oil at the price a decade ago.
Not sure about that, transportation companies are a huge lobby. Imagine the chaos that would ensue with a truckers strike. And increased transport costs are a huge factor in increasing inflation across the board and not in the interests of governments trying to control the economy.
I don't have any sort of numbers to compare, but it doesn't stand to reason that this supposed massive increase in demand was impossible to adjust for. More relevant to the split between gas/diesel, I don't see any reason why the easier-to-refine diesel would suddenly be rising in price faster than gas.
My understanding is that diesel refining has a smaller capacity due to refineries geared up for petrol production so increases in demand for a finite amount of diesel, ie under-capacity, pushes up the price. If I have this wrong then I am all out of ideas. What ideas do you have, bearing in mind I am not prone to believing conspiracy theories?
I don't have any ideas, other than corporate price-fixing, which is of course a conspiracy theory of sorts. I do know that both diesel and gasoline are created during the refining process of oil, no matter what. Why it would suddenly be harder to get one than the other, I do not know.
We need a friend in the oil industry to explain it to us. Tweet president Krusty, he has loads of them. Ps jbird is on her way over, I'm starting to pity the MHF a bit now.
