1. Everyone’s Gasoline Problem. United States consumers have experienced some dramatic increases and wide fluctuations in gasoline prices over the past several years (Federal Trade Commission 2005 Report). This Fluctuating gasoline price is as a result of several factors. It is reported that the price of crude oil which is gasoline’s primary ingredient has a massive influence on fluctuating gasoline prices. It is believed that about 50% of the cost of gasoline is influenced by the cost of crude oil. Crude oil is a commodity traded in the open market. If crude oil price rises, then there will be an increase in the price of gasoline and vice versa. Gasoline prices are subject to the ordinary forces of supply and demand. If there is a continuous reduction in demand, gasoline prices will significantly drop and if there is a continuous increase in demand for gasoline then prices will obviously rise. Therefore, gasoline prices rise if it costs more to produce and supply gasoline or if consumers are willing to purchase gasoline at the current price – that is when demand is greater than supply. On the other hand, prices for gasoline will fall if consumers are willing to buy less gasoline at the current price- that is when supply is greater than demand. (Federal Trade Commission 2005 Report). There are other factors that influence the price of gasoline like political unrests such as recent ones in the Middle East. Refinery breakdown can temporarily spike gasoline because of reduction of sellers in the market (ResourceInvestor.com). In my city Westerville Ohio as in many places in the US, gasoline prices increase in the summer and decreases in the winter months. During the summer month, demand for gasoline is high because people travel by road on vacations to different parts of the state or outside the state. During the winter months,