A review of the evidence on the relation between crude oil prices and petroleum product prices

We review a large body of the empirical literature focusing on the relation between petroleum product prices and oil prices and discuss the evidence on the direction of causality between crude oil prices and petroleum product prices. In addition, we survey the literature on the much-debated question of whether petroleum product prices respond differently to increases versus decreases in oil prices, which Bacon (1991) labeled the “rockets and feathers” phenomenon.