Big Oil cleared of price fixing

[Phlegm]

Government says no evidence companies withheld supply, but does find instances of localized price gouging. From Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An investigation by U.S. antitrust authorities found no evidence that oil companies illegally manipulated gasoline prices or constrained oil refining operations, the Federal Trade Commission said Monday.

However, the agency said it had found 15 examples that fit lawmakers' definition of price-gouging at the "refining, wholesale, or retail level." It said factors like regional and local market trends appeared to explain the pricing in nearly all the cases.

Congress ordered the FTC probe last summer as part of a broad energy bill in response to a steady climb in crude oil and gasoline prices.