eli5: why the current price of gas is much higher than in 2008 when the price of brent barrel was quite higher?
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Two things. Firstly, inflation. As time goes on, the value of 1 US dollar decreases because more people have access to it. In 2008, gas cost less in dollars than it does today but if you adjust for inflation you’ll find that the average price of gasoline in July 2008 would have been $5.37, more than a dollar over the average price of $4.32 right now. So even though we pay “more” in dollars now, in 2008 we actually paid more for gasoline.
Secondly, demand. People need to get places, and we need gasoline to do so. Until more people start buying electric cars, the demand for car-safe gasoline will stay inelastic. This means that the price of gas is not a strong factor in determining whether or not you buy gasoline. Oil companies know this, and since they want to maximize profits they raise the price of gas accordingly.
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