Why are gas prices so high

Gas prices today are at a level some consider extortionate, and they don’t seem to be going down. Many people are trying to find cheaper ways to travel, or trying to cut the cost of running their car some other way, but why exactly are gas prices so high in the first place?
There are two main factors that influence the cost of Gas and they are related to how we obtain oil. The first is the price of the crude oil itself, which can fluctuate based on supply and demand, as well as the difficulty of obtaining it. For instance, with war raging in a country wealthy with oil such as Iraq, the price of oil tends to go up due to it being harder to obtain. Other countries with a rich oil supply such as Nigeria and Iran, although not technically at war, are also very unstable.

The demand from industrialized countries for oil is also increasing all the time, as they demand more and more oil for industrial processes, heavy machinery and such. The number of vehicles in use around the world is also growing at a rapid rate. This too pushes up the cost as there is less and less oil to go around.
The second major factor that influences the cost of Gasoline is the oil refining process. Since the refining of crude oil can add as much as fifty percent to the price, and since many countries simply lack the resources to refine their own oil, this adds a huge sum to the cost of oil as it is purchased as refined oil.

It may come as a surprise to hear this, but funnily enough when you take into consideration things like inflation, even when you consider the points brought up above, we are actually still spending the same amount of money on fuel that we always did. At least, when the cost of fuel is seen as a percentage of our earnings it is the same as it has always been. Despite this, many people are struggling to manage the cost associated with running a family vehicle. So what can we do in this situation?
There are a number of ways to lower your fuel consumption, with the most obvious being the use of public transport but of course this isn’t an option for some. Other options include having your car modified to use less fuel, driving slower or in a higher gear, trading in your large car for one with a smaller engine capacity, or even trying out experimental new fuels which cost less, although some of these will require further modifications to your car’s engine.

Although it seems that Gas prices are indeed high, overall they are certainly not extortionate, and it doesn’t look like they will be coming down any time soon, in fact the reverse is more likely to be true. As mentioned previously, there are many ways to avoid spending too much on Gas, one of which just may be the right option for you.