so NOW they drop the gas prices

i hope everyone remembers when gas used to be $1.25 a liter last week here in western canada. now its below 90cents someplaces and gas companies are STILL somehow managing to survive. if you dont think we were being price gouged, then you are crazy.

There are several fear factors that were built in to the price that are disappearing, especially the fear of Gulf of Mexico Hurricanes disrupting supply and the Middle East conflict expanding into oil producing regions. Since neither of these of panned out, a lot of the speculators are being driven out of the market.

Precisely, Djohnsto. The oil companies are still making their 10%-12% profit margin, regardless of whether the gas is 2.00 a liter or .75 a liter. In other words, they [buy crude/ spend money to refine ] the barrel of oil at 100% cost, and then they sell it to gas station owners at 110% of what their cost was. Really, really simple economics.
And if you think it's "convienent" that the prices are coming down near election time, well, it's really REALLY convienent that Hamas and Isreal stopped fighting, That mother nature has given us a break this year (knock on wood), that there have been no terrorist attacks to disrupt the flow of oil, etc, etc.
Oh wait, that's all the illuminatist conspiracy...

End of summer and a long weekend. Gas prices usually drop when this happens.