Federal Agencies Consent To Cooperate On Gasoline Price Investigation

For the second time in three years, gasoline costs are easily heading toward the $4 per gallon mark. There are two different federal agencies that could have some stake in investigating possible manipulations of the industry. These two agencies have agreed to cooperate in these investigations. The effects of this increased enforcement, however, could possibly be difficult to discern. Article source – Federal agencies agree to cooperate on gas price investigation by MoneyBlogNewz.

What the Federal Trade Commission thinks about gas price increases

There was a huge increase in gasoline in 2008. It got over $4 a gallon by the end of the year. It is not allowed for there to be "fraud or deceit in wholesale petroleum markets, and omissions of material information that are likely to distort petroleum markets." This is because of the "Final Rule" the Federal Trade Commission signed about a year later. Since the issuance of this rule, the FTC has been investigating possible manipulations that could possibly be increasing the cost of oil, and therefore fuel. There have not been any official fines or charges to the Federal Trade Commission even though there were investigations.

The agreement to cooperate with the FTC And CFTC both

When compared to the Federal Trade Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC) is very small. Financial investments are made in physical products, not businesses with Commodities and Futures. Today, the CFTC and FTC signed a "Memorandum of Understanding" that allows the 2 agencies to share non-public information about the fuel market. In order to help stop abuses in the market, the information is being shared between the companies.

How to make fuel prices go down

There are several factors that attribute to the gasoline and fuel prices. It takes a few months before the oil price change reaches the market. Geopolitical conflicts, costs of refining, demand for fuel and even the cost of crops all impact the price of fuel. Any person who is nervous about costs will typically be making the prices go up also. There are often accusations of oil businesses gouging on fuel costs, though the FTC and CFTC rarely find enough evidence to prosecute perceived offenders.

Articles cited

The Price of Fuel
thepriceoffuel.com/whataffectsfuelpricing/

FTC
ftc.gov/opa/2009/08/mmr.shtm

CFTC
cftc.gov/