油价为什么这么高？这不只跟石油有关

Consumers can expect gas prices to drop nearly 50 cents a gallon in June—but that may be little consolation to those who face long commutes every day. According to AAA, the average price of gas in the Unites States is currently $3.98, up from $2.89 a year ago. Gas prices have risen 91 cents since January 2011. And prices will probably go even higher before they start to fall.
消费者可以期望油价在六月降到每加仑50美分——但是这对那些每天需要长途来回的人来说没有得到多少安慰。根据美国汽车协会，美国平均油价从去年的2.89美元上涨到如今的3.98美元。油价自从2011年1月就上涨了91美分。而且，油价在下跌前还可能涨得更高。

What's causing the high prices? Turns out that the price of oil is only one factor. What you pay at the pump also has to do with the stock market and competition with other gas stations nearby.
是什么导致油价这么高呢？事实上，石油价格只是其中一个因素。你在加油站所付的钱也跟股票市场和附近其他加油站的竞争有关。

"We have to pay whatever the market says we do. It's an instantaneous world," Joe Petrowski, CEO of Gulf Oil, a big gasoline wholesaler, told the Associated Press in March.
“我们不得不按照市场所说的价格付款。这是一个即时的世界。”一个大石油批发商——海湾石油公司总裁Joe Petrowski在3月告诉美联社。

Gas and oil are commodities, and the prices are based on the cost to replace a seller's supply, not on how much the gas cost to produce. While oil and gas producers are pulling in the big bucks, and possibly paying only a tiny bit in taxes, individual gas station owners aren't seeing much of the profit—they only make a few pennies on each gallon they sell.
汽油和石油都是商品，价格是基于代替卖方供应的成本，而不是生产汽油的费用。尽管汽油和石油制造商大赚一笔，而且可能只要交付一点税收，但是私人加油站老板没有赚太多——他们每卖一加仑所赚的钱很少。

"Gasoline is the only product in this country that if you're a penny different people will go out of their way to go somewhere else," says Jay Ricker, who owns a BP station in Plainfield, Indiana. But when gas prices do drop, you're not likely to see the difference reflected at the pump right away.
“这个国家，汽油是唯一的产品，如果你卖的价格有一点不同，人们就会离开这里去其他地方买。”Jay Ricker是印第安纳州平原镇一家BP加油站老板。但是如果油价真的下降，你也不可能在加油站马上看到变化。

"If gasoline prices drop a dime, a station will only pass along one or two pennies a day," Patrick DeHaan, an analyst at GasBuddy.com, told the Associated Press. "They are slower to pass along the discount because they need to make up for money they lost when prices went up."
“如果油价下降十美分，加油站将通过每天降低一或两美分。”GasBuddy.com一名分析家Patrick DeHaan告诉美联社。“他们对降价的反应较慢，因为他们必须通过这样弥补价格上涨带来的损失。”