Price Gouging

Price gouging is the practice of raising the price of goods, services or commodities to a level considered unreasonably or unfairly high given the circumstances. It is most often reported in the aftermath of natural disasters or other sudden disruptions to supply, when demand for necessities such as fuel, water or building materials spikes sharply. A number of jurisdictions, including several individual American states, make price gouging during a declared civil emergency a specific criminal offense rather than leaving it to ordinary competition law. The practice remains contested outside those legal contexts, with critics describing it as exploitative and others describing it as an ordinary market response to scarcity.