Probably the same reason as always, they know we'll pay. Make the gasoline cost too much and we all look for alternative energy. Raise the price of food too high and....what, you're not gonna eat ;) I suppose some would say you will see more private farms and grow-your-own, but that just isn't feasible in many places. They know we are gonna pay pretty much whatever they charge. The gas crisis was a good reason to raise the sticker and keep it there.

prices are at the "whatever we can get away with" level. When people STOP buying a product in favor of a competitor's lower priced product, that spurs the drop in price.

In the business world, the basic rule of thumb is to do anything that will MAXIMIZE PROFIT. Right now, these grocery store chains and supermarkets know that people EXPECT food prices to be high. Hence, people continue to buy what is being overpriced for no reason other than businesses taking advantage of them for the sake of maximizing profit. I'll give you an example of how the public can be empowered against this. At one local food chain one brand of cheddar cheese was $5 per pound. That's not the highest price you see there, but given it's expected to go up in price people will say it's the "regular" price. Two weeks ago it was on sale for $3 per pound, and it flew off the shelves. I bought more than usual to take advantage of the savings. Past two weeks the price was HIGHER than the regular price. Guess what? This week it's back to $3 per pound. Why? My guess is that it wasn't selling at the higher price. If people would stop buying a product like this until it goes on sale the store would be forced to offer it at the lowest price more frequently. But the problem is most people can't do without something, so they spend $6 when they could wait and spend $3. I saw a different grocery chain PERMANANTLY raise the price of their cheddar by almost 40% because the customers who frequent that store demonstrated they are willing to pay the higher price. I don't shop there anymore. Food prices (and any other commodity for that matter) will stay high despite gasoline prices going down because the number one rule in big business is to maximize profit.

Well since the cost of oil effects the cost of the gas, I dont even really think the gas prices were legit to the cost of oil. $4.50 for ONE GALLON of gas?? GET REAL!

I was wondering the same thing when I went to the grocery store last night and some of the prices were actually RAISED from the last week!!!! Makes no sense to me. However at work, many of our distributors have lowered their prices and their fuel surcharges are almost 1/2.

Just as it took a while for food prices to go up after gas prices went up, it will take some time for food prices to go down...if the gas prices stay down.

I read an article about this. They called it "sticky pricing". The prices go up to compensate for the raise in fuel costs, and then, when the fuel cost is lowered, the prices remain the same, because people have gotten used to paying them. The retailers have also gotten used to collecting them. In much the same way that drivers haven't resumed their gas-guzzling for fear that the price-drop is temporary, or will fluctuate, the retailers are leery that they will go up again, causing them to have to re-structure their pricing and risk ticking people off again.

All the crops for this year have been grown. Unless the food you are buying is imported from the Southern Hemisphere, our growing season here is done. The money for the gas for the tractors and trucks has been spent. It cost the farmers more to grow that food than it did before. So until this crop year is through the system, the price will stay high. If we don't give farmers a fair price for the crops, based on what they had to spend to grow it, they won't have the money to raise next years crops. I don't know if you remember, but the foods prices did the same thing back in the seventies. When farmers weren't getting as much for their calves as what it cost to raise them and get them to market, they started slaughtering them en masse and dumping them in mass graves rather than take them to market. The gas for the trucks to carry those calves to market cost more than the calves were worth.

The news stated once price increases occur they tend to be hard to move down. In other words this may be the new level for food etc.

The cost of production was really high which explains some of the higher costs. But the delivery cost has gone down by 50% or so. I believe it is wholesalers and retailers trying to recoup earlier costs they didn't entirely recoup. Of course knowing we will pay higher prices will probably result in them staying there also.

Because the 'free market' means everybody's going to try and screw you over any way they can.

Hi Rosie.. It's a topic really to ponder. In India the ministry has not even reduced the price of petrol. We still have the rate fixed when oil rate hit $145/ barrel. It's because of the motive to increase the PAT of oil related companies. Food prices are also high. The political parties were opposing it for sometime and now there's no news of it. Probably they would have FORGOTTEN it. I feel increase in veg and fruit prices are good for the poor farmers. This price doesn't make much difference than the previous rates I hope...