Factors Impacting Gasoline Prices and Areas for Further Study

John Cook

Energy Information Administration

FTC Public Conference

August 2, 2001

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This briefing summarizes EIA analysis to date that suggests:

• Most, if not all, recent retail gasoline price movements can be explained by market fundamentals, I.e., underlying movements in supply, demand, and inventories in crude oil and wholesale gasoline markets; and

• Even “downward sticky” retail price behavior is the expected pattern, not the result of market imperfections.