Petro Patrol

Since our last petroleum watch on July 5, the price of regular gas has spiked up 10 cents from $3.79 to $3.89 in just one week, and on Monday, the Federal Trade Commission announced it will be launching an investigation into possible illegal, anti-competitive conduct within the oil industry.

According to oil-price.net, although the media as rationed the fluctuating gas prices over the last year to unrest in the Middle East and natural calamities across the globe such as the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, the FTC thinks it may be something else. 

"Many see the price variations as a ploy on part of the oil companies to boost profits rather than in keeping with the market trends," wrote Steve Austin.

He added that the FTC investigation was started because the oil industry has displayed major profits despite claiming decreased usage of capacity. According to the FTC, price manipulation seems plausible.

Bed-Stuy Patch will keep you abreast of the FTC investigation and its future findings. In the meantime, it doesn't look like a stabilization in petroleum prices will be happening any time soon.