Gas Prices on the Rise

Since I commute to school a lot, I have noticed that the gas prices have jumped significantly. The Valero near my apartment went up 12 cents in one week, and so I was wondering what the justifications for that was and if it was nationwide. 

In fact, CNNMoney just did a report about this today: "The average price for a gallon of regular is now $3.53 a gallon, according to AAA. That's 17 cents higher than it was just a week ago, and 23 cents higher than last month." 

Why is this happening? CNNMoney suggests oil prices, the typical response. "Oil prices have jumped 10% over the last two months." They even give the Energy Information Administration's breakdown for gas prices: Crude accounts for 68%, refining for 8%, for marketing and distribution for 11%, and taxes for 13%. But what they are not saying which of the subcategories are responsible for the change. This makes a big difference in how people will react to the price increase. If the cost can be attributed to marketing, then many would argue that the oil companies should absorb that cost, not us. If it is a crude shortage, well, then that is just the way of supply and demand. 

They also casually mention that it could be based on economic recovery, though they don't give any hard numbers.

Last year, "Americans spent a record $479 billion at the pump" -CNN, are we just lining the oil companies pockets or are we experiencing a true shortage?

Source:

http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/06/news/economy/gas-prices/