Why gasoline follows oil up but not down

The short answer: Service stations do it because they can. But the really big bucks are being made elsewhere.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — If it seems like gasoline prices are quick to skyrocket when the price of oil goes up, but then take their sweet ‘ol time coming back down when crude prices sink, the answer is simple: They do.

“There is a rocket and feather aspect,” said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service.

And the reason seems to be simple economics.

The service stations are still selling the same amount of gasoline when wholesale prices fall, said Kloza, “so there’s no reason to drop.”

CNN/Money