Gas prices up? All in your head, US data says

[The Straight Story]

UPDATE 1-ANALYSIS-Gas prices up? All in your head, US data says

By Emily Kaiser

WASHINGTON, May 14 (Reuters) - High gasoline prices got you down? Come to the land of seasonal adjustment, where the sun is always shining and gas prices fell 2 percent last month.

What? You paid more? Well, in the real world, gasoline prices did rise by a sharp 5.6 percent in April from a month earlier, but the way that the Bureau of Labor Statistics adjusts the figures to smooth out seasonal oddities, it appeared to be down in the consumer price index released on Wednesday.

"The drop makes absolutely no sense. Where does the BLS buy their gas?" asked Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wachovia.

No, there is not a magical government gas station where pump prices remain below $3 per gallon while the national average stands at $3.72.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKN1451087820080514

[nickinSTL]

1. Sounds like the same kind of BS the government pulls

with so many economic indicators to prevent the public from seeing the truth.