Gas prices: how you can tell gas stations are making more money now

$2.39 for regular
$2.54 for midgrade
$2.64 for super

It's pretty much a standard that gas retailers sell their three grades of gasoline at 10-cent intervals. There's no law that says this has to be the case, but it's long been established as the norm. If a gas station is selling regular at $2.49, then the midgrade will be $2.59 and the super $2.69.

But do you see what's happening in these welcome months of falling gas prices? Pump prices have fallen 50 cents in the past month, and some experts say we may see prices closer to $2.00 before the end of the year. In any event, these days you're seeing more and more gas stations that are pricing regular really low (as low as $2.32 today), but to get a midgrade or super, you're paying more than 10 or 20 cents, as in the example above.

This is sure sign that retailers are making their best profits now, when prices are in a relative free-fall. When wholesale gas prices rise, retailers will set prices to cover their next wholesale delivery. When wholesale prices fall faster than the retail market, then retailers have the fleeting choice of either milking extra profits with slightly-higher pumps prices, or lowering prices to stay competitive with other retailers. Lowering the price of the regular grade sets the price as a teaser, which certainly grabs your attention. But watch carefully the prices of the higher grades, because they might not be as cheap.