Gas Price Explanation

I’m not an economist, but I’m going to play one on the internet today. I mean, I have a minor in International Business, so that has to count for something. Basically, I learned that culture is important in business. And guns and butter are a thing. 

Which brings me to gas prices. They can differ significantly depending on location and time of year. There are taxes involved, which impacts the price, as well as supply and demand. For example, with millions of people traveling for Thanksgiving and more people needing gas, you can expect prices to increase. There's also microeconomics and macroeconomics. I'm just going to write economic terms!

All of this brings me to a gas station a few miles from my Northern Virginia home. Last week, I dropped off my two younger kids at school and got gas for the car. The price was $2.759 per gallon. Nearly 12 hours later, I returned to the same gas station and the price was $3.099 per gallon, an increase of 34 cents. Knowing that this would be pointless, I went inside the store to ask for an explanation. The guy simply said that they have no control over the pricing as this is done by corporate.

So my next step was contacting corporate. While I won't say the name of the gas company, the first three letters are the same as a star closer to Mercury and Venus than Earth. It's also very hot. Anyway, this company passed me on to their partner, who has free Slurpees on a specific day in July, since they own and operate this location. 

This is the message I received:

Thank you for contacting us with your question about the change in fuel price at our location in redacted.  Although I do not have the specific metrics as to why the price changed yesterday I do know that our Fuel department felt the need to change the price throughout all of Northern Virginia.  The prices may go up or down several times a weeks for any number of reasons.  I appreciate your interest in this matter and for being a loyal customer.  

Now my turn:

I appreciate your quick response. While I certainly understand that gas prices may fluctuate regularly, an increase of 34 cents per gallon on the same day seems extreme. I'm just trying to figure out an explanation of why there was such a significant increase in such a short amount of time. Are there any specific reasons?

Naturally, I haven't heard anything back from my email. There wasn't a natural disaster in Northern Virginia causing disruptions in getting gas to the station. Instead of speculating, let's play a game. Please leave your guess (real or silly) as to why gas prices at this particular station went up so much.

DC Gas Prices (Trivia Tuesday)

There is an Exxon station at the corner of Virginia Avenue and Rock Creek Parkway in Washington right next to The Watergate. Perhaps you have heard of it (Watergate, not the gas station. Actually, you have probably heard of Exxon as well). Anyway, when we drove by this station on Sunday, we noticed that the cost of regular unleaded was $3.49 per gallon. Although gas prices have steadily increased over the past few months, that amount seems really high. This is especially the case since a Chevron (I think) station almost directly across the street sells regular unleaded gasoline for $2.79 a gallon, or 70 cents less than the Exxon.

Today’s question is why is there such a disparity between the two gas stations? In addition, why would anyone go to the Exxon when they can get gas for significantly cheaper across the street?

I don’t know the answer to the first question, so if anyone who works or lives in the area can shed some light on this, they will become a Sean’s Ramblings Superstar.*


A traditional Trivia Tuesday will return next Tuesday and look for more Vegas stories soon.


* Trademark pending.

Wednesday Morning Notes

On the way to the San Francisco airport, we passed a Shell gas station charging $4.33 a gallon…for regular unleaded! Directly across the street was a Chevron station charging 70 cents less per gallon. According to the taxi driver, who was extremely passionate about the subject (some might say crazy or fanatical), the Shell station is believed to be the most expensive gas station in the country. Apparently, a San Francisco TV station questioned the station manager about the extraordinary prices. The manager explained that he was just breaking even because of the high cost of rent.
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Unfortunately, Tiffany Catania got voted off Good Morning America’s Dancing With the Moms. I blame myself. When I first encouraged people to vote, Tiffany advanced to the next round. Since I was away last week, I didn’t solicit votes, and now we see what happened. Sorry Tiffany.
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Finally, Mother’s Day is on Sunday, so don’t forget to send Mom a card. There is no mail on Sunday, so you may want to mail the card soon, like today!