Today, Explained Can someone explain these prices?
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Apr 5, 2026 
Sam Ori, a University of Chicago energy policy expert, tackles why gas tracks global oil and jumps faster than it falls. Elena Peng, a Bloomberg agriculture reporter, gets into climate-hit coffee crops, tariffs, and café costs. Chuck Nicholson, a Penn State supply chain professor, unpacks milk pricing, loss-leader grocery tactics, and why so much milk ends up as cheese.
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A Childhood Grocery Game Became A Price Alarm
- Jonquilyn Hill still plays the grocery guessing game she learned from her dad, which makes rising food prices impossible for her to ignore.
- What once helped feed a family of three now barely covers her solo grocery bill.
Why Gas Prices Rise Like Rockets And Fall Slowly
- Gas prices mostly follow global crude oil prices, with taxes, distribution, and some oil-company profit layered on top.
- Sam Ori says stations use the replacement cost of their next delivery, so prices shoot up fast and drift down slower.
Why America Cannot Opt Out Of Global Oil Prices
- A supply disruption anywhere can raise U.S. gas prices because oil is priced in a tightly connected global market.
- Sam Ori says the U.S. still imports heavier sour crude its refineries need and exports much domestic light sweet crude.