Here's The REAL Reason Gasoline Prices Have Been Surging In The US

Here's The REAL Reason Gasoline Prices Have Been Surging In The US

by Joe Weisenthal

In just a matter of a few days, gasoline prices have become a major worry for people pondering what might drag down the U.S. economy.
The essence of the problem is this chart, posted by CFR's Blake Clayton (via Brad Plumer):

Given where we are in the year, prices are unusually high. And if trends hold, then the national average will be well over the $4 freakout point sometime this summer.
But whenever the discussion turns to gas and oil, logic tends to die, and people start coming up with all kinds of bizarre explanations for what's going on -- explanations such as the Bernanke's money printing, Obama's domestic energy policy, Obama's foreign policy, speculators, price gougers, and so on.
So we thought it would be a good time to just clear up some misconceptions, and explain what's really driving the price.
Of course, you can't start a discussion about gasoline without talking about oil. So let's begin there.