The tail does not wag the dog. The function of futures contracts is as a basis for forward not spot pricing.
And yes, part of the function of futures is to smooth revenue streams.
There is a convergence between the futures price and the spot price upon expiry, but even here the delivery process, and the fact that the futures contract is standardised, while the physical market is not, leads to all sorts of games between buyers and sellers. "Any economic unit can emit money. The serious problem is to get it accepted" Hyman Minsky
The reasoning behind this is to use the future prices as a predictor of future wholesale prices. They charge more in the present to garner the funds needed to cover the cost of purchasing the gasoline in the Future. This maintains their profit margin.
The background is the sales points (gasoline stations) purchase intermittently while the spot/Future prices change constantly and fluctuate around the Supply-from-the-refinery/Demand-at-the-Pump equilibrium point. This Price-Time difference, plus the Boom-Bust nature of the future markets, exposes the sales point to Product Price Supply risk -- buying at a high point in the price fluctuation cycle and selling into a downward fluctuation.
This same process occurs at the refineries when they purchase crude oil to turn into petro-chemical wholesale products.
Without research the affect of this is unclear.
