Eighty-five to 90 percent of retailers are independent businesses. They set their own prices. I can guess what they do. They make their own decisions. If you're looking at what you know is a tight market, you can see that one approach is to make sure you can pay for it by charging more before it is delivered. |
I don't think anyone is gouging. |
It all starts with Hurricane Katrina. We lost about 10 percent of our U.S. refining capacity. We've taken a major hit. Distributors are having to pay more for their supplies. |
The basic aim is to be more competitive, and I think that helps improve the situation for consumers. If they had to sell it all at one price, it would tend to be a higher price. |
The nice thing about Nigeria crude is its high-quality crude. |
There have been some improvements since the first days after the hurricane. Some of the refineries that were down are up and running, but four are not. |
We obviously have had a reduction in the ability to produce gasoline. And the market is at work. You can see it at wholesale, (and) you can see it in retail. |