Thursday, May 20, 2004

Gasoline

Gasoline pricesI had to fill up my gas tank this morning. Prices have been rising steadily for the past few months but this is the first time I can recall paying over $2 per gallon. Gasoline has been above $2 per gallon in other parts of the country for a while -- and more expensive in most of the rest of the world as well. Adjusting for inflation it's not really a big deal but passing a price threshold has a psychological effect when you see it at the pump.

Speaking of gasoline pricing: including "9/10" cents in the price per gallon is odd. It's a little like pricing something as $1.99 rather than $2.00 but given the current price of gasoline, 1/10 cent per gallon is only 0.05% of the total price. I did a Google search but haven't found a credible explanation for this pricing tradition. I found this article but it doesn't provide a definitive answer.