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Suppliers for lots of things charge whatever people will pay regardless of current market conditions. From time to time I read about lobster surpluses, where prices for distributors plummet and they just can't get rid of them. But when I go to the supermarket the price hasn't budged even $1. The supermarket knows the average consumer isn't aware of the fluctuations in the wholesale lobster market and even if they are, who's going to change supermarkets just to save a few bucks on one item.


Lobsters can be frozen.. gasoline is more elastic b/c it does eventually expire.


I don't think it's reasonable to imply that fuel is more perishable than meat. Crude oil doesn't go bad.

Besides, the [non]-perishability of either doesn't see to really be a factor in either, does it?

Maybe the closest factor for oil is storage, as we saw recently when prices went negative.


Frozen foods have a limited shelf life too.




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