Gas Prices The Result of Supply and Demand, Not Price Gouging

Bloomberg News is reporting that yet another investigation has found that last year's gas price increases were not the result of price gouging. That's not shocking news for those who follow little things like supply and demand, but our populist friends and their enablers have continued to push the myth that the omnipotent "big oil" conspired to increase prices.

As Bloomberg reports,

Gasoline price increases in the spring and summer of 2006 were not the result of antitrust violations by oil companies or refiners, the Federal Trade Commission said Thursday.

"The 2006 price increases were caused by a confluence of factors reflecting the normal operation of the market," the commission said in a report to President Bush.

Those factors included higher prices for crude oil and ethanol, greater demand for fuel during the summer driving season as well as lingering refinery outages from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Reduced capacity while refinery owners switched to using ethanol as a fuel additive also contributed.

The full report is available here.