Okay, I just got off the phone with my son - never ask a CPA to explain something quickly. He is an annalist at one of the countries largest pipeline and mid stream companies in Houston. He says there are literally thousands of variables causing gasoline prices to seem erratic from region to region, community to community and even neighborhood to neighborhood. But it always boils down to supply and demand. For instance here in Beaumont/Port Arthur we have some of the world's largest petrochemical refineries but we seldom have the regions cheapest gasoline prices. This part of Texas benefits from things that should keep our local prices among the lowest in the country like a low cost of transportation, availability of near by crude feed stock, and cheap and available local labor. However, we also have the countries fourth largest seaport system and the exporting of refined products competes with and forces our available supply to compete with world demand. So the price foreign countries are willing to pay for our refined products keeps our local price high. Areas that refine but have higher "transport to market" costs may find refineries forced to sell for less locally than pipe hundreds of miles to other markets. He also said not to underestimate specific costs of your local gas station like land cost, state and local taxes, local labor costs and nearby competition. We all know gasoline on an interstate highway running through downtown Dallas is going to come at a premium. So given all of those variables and many many more it still all comes down to Economics 101, supply and demand.
$2.89 today where I gas up and $2.80 across town but I'd chance getting my hubcaps stolen while I was filling up there.