Gas prices are at their lowest since May of 2005 ($52.99 a barrel according to Bloomberg.com).  So why is it that since election season ended, while prices per barrel have been dropping, prices have been creeping back up?

During the height of election season the gas prices dropped as low as $2.12 in our area (from what I recall), but since then they’ve gone back up to $2.26-$2.38 depending on which station you stop at (it’s more expensive closer to base).  Why is this?  What is the cause of this phenemenon?

Consumer Conditioned Spending is how I like to refer to it.  What does this mean?

Well if a gas station had put their prices up to $2.26 from the get go, no one would shop there, ever.  Why?  Because that gas station would be labeled “The gas station that charges way too much!” But since they all gradually raised prices and blamed the “rapidly increasing oil per barrel prices” (I just through those quotes in for good measure, by the way) the general leftist went, “Man, that Bush guy, he went to war and now look what happened!” (Yet again, quotes for good measure).  The general rightest went, “Damn oil prices!”

So we all put up with the high prices and paid… They went up in some states over $4 I believe… Here they barely broke $3, if they actually broke it, I don’t recall.  But now they’re $2.26 and what are we saying?  “Well, at least they’re not $3+!” Why?  We’ve been conditioned.  As long as they don’t go up as high as they were, the general public will keep paying and won’t bother checking why they’re that high.