The Wall Street Journal
High Gas Prices Reek of Low Cigarette Sales
The OPEC oil cartel holds a lot of sway over what U.S. drivers pay at the pump, but factors closer to home are having a surprising impact: cigarette sales and convenience store wages. The first time the U.S. crude-oil benchmark reached $90 a barrel in October 2007, retail gasoline prices were $2.82 a gallon. One quantifiable change is the tightening of renewable fuel standards, which added about 10 cents to 15 cents a gallon to refiners’ cost of compliance over that period, according to an estimate from energy economist Philip Verleger.