I Knew It

It always seemed like gas went up faster than it went down. I figured that might just be some paranoid fantasy of mine though. I'm happy (or sad) to say it wasn't.

Analyses of gasoline economics show that when the price of oil rises, it takes up to four weeks for gas station prices to catch up, with most of the increase taking place within the first two weeks. But when oil prices sink, it takes up to eight weeks for the savings to be passed along to consumers. The phenomenon is known as "asymmetric price adjustment" (PDF) or, more informally, "rockets and feathers."

You can read more about why here.