how bout dem dern letric vee hickles?

didn't this happen like 3-4 months ago. When they did more investigating they found out that it was just some broker who wanted to be the first person to buy a barrel of oil for $100

Yes and no. Oil shot up over $100 a barrel that day but closed under. This time it closed at over $100. There's been a $.13/gal rise in gas prices here since Friday and it's climbing.

*ouch*

YAY DOUBLE POST

so i'm assuing that the closing price is the average price over any given day.

I know! I know! Let's give the oil barron Neocons a THIRD term, then we won't be able to afford cars. We will all have to ride bikes and our nations obesity problem will be solved. As an added bonus, we'll be helping the environment.

The closing price is the price it's at when the market closes at 4 pm EST (or EDT whichever we're in at the moment) per day. Tomorrow, if the price should drop to $5 a barrel it would take over a week for the prices at the pump to drop.

Gas stations have to pay for their fuel in advance so they have to raise their prices accordingly. However, they may not lower them accordingly depending on how the state regulates their pricing (some states only allow prices to change 1x in a given time period) or how much fuel they have on hand. That is why you'll see a variety at gas stations that are even in close competition, not to mention the most relevant factor which is futures, gas stations get the information every morning from their supplier(s) on what the future market did the night before. And then there's Citgo.