The Long Weekend Gas-Gouging Myth

For those taking to the road this long weekend, they're probably quite aware of just how they're paying for fuel.
It's the sort of thing we all tend to pay closer attention to when setting off on a long journey.
From that, perhaps, has grown the belief that we pay more for gasoline on long weekends. It's become quite commonplace, in fact, to hear people say that motorists get "gouged" before holiday weekends.
However, as it turns out, the notion that we're being gouged at the pump is a myth.
A new study (PDF) by MJ Ervin & Associates finds that as much as prices have gone up before a long weekend, they's also gone down.
The study looked at week-over-week pump prices around holidays and non-holidays over a five-year span from April of 2006 to June of this year:

The aggregated results indicate that week-over-week retail prices are no more likely to increase during the week immediately before a holiday. In fact, our findings revealed that the number of price increases during the week of a holiday was slightly less than that of weeks not related to holidays.
The average magnitude of price changes over these same weeks indicates a negligible difference between holiday and non-holiday weeks. The average price increase during the week of a holiday was slightly less than for non-holiday weeks. Conversely, average price decreases were slightly higher during holiday weeks.

The study did find that gasoline tended to cost more in the spring and early summer, after demand spikes and inventories become squeezed.
But when it came to long weekends, prices were no different than any other weekend.
The study explores why this myth persists:

The perception held by many consumers that gasoline prices increase just before a holiday weekend is simply not supported by the objective data. We would therefore conclude that this perception can be viewed simply as a myth, likely perpetuated by a combination of distrust of oil companies, long-held beliefs, and commentary in the popular media that often takes a cynical view of oil companies.
Our findings suggest that the retailing of motor fuels is more competitive than many consumers might perceive. The "long weekend" myth is in direct opposition to this analysis showing petroleum price behaviours surrounding long weekends to be competitive.

In lieu of any evidence, the notion of the long weekend gas gouge is merely a conspiracy theory. Now we have the evidence to lay it to rest. Whether to choose to accept it is another matter.