OK Robert...time to go to economics 101. The reason diesel is now higher is this. We all know there is a fraction of the refining in diesel than in gasoline. The problem is this. If you look at a barrel of crude in a pie-chart, imagine that 50% of the pie is dedicated to gasoline. Used to, about 8% off the pie was given to "other" stuff i.e. plastics, polymers,
rubber, etc. which produced anything from tires to toothbrush handles to cardboard boxes. The other 42% was used for motor oil & lubricants & diesel. TODAY...the "OTHER" category consumes closer to 30% of the barrel of crude thus leaving less than 20% for diesel. Because there are so many more demands on the barrel, the cost of each section over and above gasoline has gone up exponentially. That may sound kind of screwy, but 50% of every barrel is dedicated to gas and the other 50% is for everything else. So again, it's supply & demand. Demand is high, supply is low=prices high. As far as gouging, it most definitely happens especially around the holidays. You watch, in the next few weeks, fuel will drop a dime and then gain it back magically during Christmas and then it will retreat until Memorial Day.
