Figure 3.13: FIGURE 3-13 Price Below Its Equilibrium Level Creates a Shortage
Figure 3.13: The market price of $2.75 is below the equilibrium price of $3. This creates a shortage: consumers want to buy 11.5 trillion BTUs, but only 9.1 trillion BTUs are for sale, so there is a shortage of 2.4 trillion BTUs. This shortage will push the price up until it reaches the equilibrium price of $3.