I’ve noticed this for as long as I’ve cared about gas prices but am only now getting around to asking, so I’m not specifically talking about any one period of time. Why are diesel prices seemingly so divorced from unleaded prices? I understand the concept of a price difference, but sometimes that price difference is $1 or $1.50, sometimes it’s 50 cents, and I’ve even seen the rare example where it’s cheaper than unleaded. Are the same forces acting on unleaded prices not acting on diesel? Why are they so independent of each other?
EDIT: I should specify that my experience is in the USA. It seems prices track much more closely in the EU/UK.
In: Economics
Different supply/demand patterns than gasoline, differences in fuel taxation compared to gasoline. For example, during COVID lockdowns people drove a lot less, but trucks were still needed to distribute goods.
Latest Answers