General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhat is the official reason for rising gas prices?
Searching around I'm getting a lot of theories.
Thanks.
Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)RevStPatrick
(2,208 posts)Of course, there's also the Tea Bagger reason, which is that we need to drill, baby, drill!
orwell
(7,749 posts)US oil production is higher than it was in the last four years of the Bush Administration.
I believe there are more rigs in and around the US than the rest of the world combined. But you would never know that if all you listen to is Faux News.
We are already drilling baby...
savalez
(3,517 posts)Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)Republican: Obama is raising the price of oil
Teabaggers: Too many regulations(could be added to republican also)
Democrats: Greed and speculation
Real: Speculation
RKP5637
(67,008 posts)week that diesel fuel is being exported from the US to other countries for higher prices thereby creating a shortage here (real or not?) and causing prices to rise.
Spider Jerusalem
(21,786 posts)diesel fuel and gasoline aren't being exported to "create a shortage"; there is no shortage, what there is is reduced demand in the US. If there were in fact a shortage then it would wreak havoc with the supply and distribution of most things including food because pretty much everything sold in the US is shipped by truck. US demand is down by about 2 million barrels a day from peak; at the same time global demand is near all time high levels, mostly thanks to China.
RKP5637
(67,008 posts)"There's at least one domestic downside to America's growing role as a fuel exporter. Experts say the trend helps explain why U.S. motorists are paying more for gasoline. The more fuel that's sent overseas, the less of a supply cushion there is at home.
Gasoline supplies are being exported to the highest bidder, says Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service. "It's a world market," he says.
Refining companies won't say how much they make by selling fuel overseas. But analysts say those sales are likely generating higher profits per gallon than they would have generated in the U.S. Otherwise, they wouldn't occur."
onehandle
(51,122 posts)The 'secret war' going on between Israel and Iran, threats to oil shipping by Iran, their nuclear activities, etc.
Blue Owl
(49,739 posts)n/t
orwell
(7,749 posts)...regarding potential War with Iran and the supply disruptions that would occur if the Straight of Hormuz is blocked.
Add to that the problems in Syria and it's understandable that the futures market would bid up the price of oil.
It certainly is not an immediate supply/demand situation as general demand is weak and supply is relatively strong.
xxqqqzme
(14,887 posts)at a local Dem meeting. I think the futures market speculation is getting out to the public.
WCGreen
(45,558 posts)Oil is now 105 bucks a barrel and gas is closing in on 4.00 a gallon.
I think it is price rigging on the part of the oil companies to make Obama look bad...
orwell
(7,749 posts)average gas prices were in the $4.10 range. They are now in the $3.60 range
WCGreen
(45,558 posts)Spider Jerusalem
(21,786 posts)WCGreen
(45,558 posts)Spider Jerusalem
(21,786 posts)Record oil price, 7 July 2008, $147 a barrel. Average pump price for one gallon of unleaded, July 2008: $4.11. http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/2008/07/gas-prices.html
WCGreen
(45,558 posts)I was looking at the wrong chart. I need to now when to take the time to actually enlarge things. I ain't getting any younger...
pinto
(106,886 posts)Demand / usage is trending down here (US) so it doesn't seem tied to consumtion consumption.
What it means for me (I don't drive anymore) as well as everyone else is that rising gas prices also means rising prices for any thing that gets trucked. I try and buy as many made-local products as possible, but some things are unavoidable.
Spider Jerusalem
(21,786 posts)Especially not when more than half of domestic consumption comes from imports.
pinto
(106,886 posts)benld74
(9,881 posts)http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505123_162-57383435/high-gas-prices-are-traders-to-blame/
But it appears rising gas prices are mostly due to the work of Wall Street speculators and traders -- not any increase in demand, according to a new report from Yardeni Research.
Since each contract is for 42,000 gallons, or 1,000 barrels, of gas, and gasoline inventories in the U.S. stood at 232 million barrels, "speculators and traders, in effect, held a record 43.8 percent of U.S. inventories," Yardeni says.
The economist says speculators must be betting that the confrontation with Iran will worsen, pushing gas prices still higher. "They certainly can't be betting on strong U.S. demand for gasoline," says Yardeni. Over the past year, gas usage fell to its lowest since Nov. 28, 2003
They're betting on Iran confrontation!!!!!!
Motown_Johnny
(22,308 posts)the same as always
RKP5637
(67,008 posts)cuts and I was wondering who TF buys this stuff at $24/lb. ... but apparently they do ...
Duer 157099
(17,742 posts)Their goal is to take every last cent until we starve to death.
sinkingfeeling
(51,201 posts)Initech
(99,881 posts)RKP5637
(67,008 posts)"Owning one's own yacht must surely be one of man's greatest indulgences. The ability to take your own tailored environment anywhere you want. Yacht Island Design creates tailored environment like no other. Following on from its "Streets of Monaco" design is the "Tropical Island Paradise", a 90 metre island with a top speed of 15 knots. The main deck is a beach cove of cabanas surrounding a massive ocean view swimming pool, with a waterfall falling nearby from the volcano. A bar area, outdoor dining, there's a private spa and four VIP suites for friends, all with their own private balcony. Great image gallery"
BadgerKid
(4,539 posts)ohiosmith
(24,262 posts)backscatter712
(26,355 posts)Official Party Line: Those EEEEEEEEEEEVIL Iranians might be building a bomb somewhere, even though the IAEA says they're not, and there could be a war that threatens to close the Strait of Hormuz and shut off the oil spigot from Saudi Arabia.
Real reason: Oil speculators buying up futures and manipulating the markets to cash in. And using the Iran thing as an excuse.
savalez
(3,517 posts)I appreciate it.
spanone
(135,586 posts)bhikkhu
(10,707 posts)...this is the one I think is most pertinent to the future
where you have an inability to increase the rate of production over the last 8 years, in spite of very high prices. The average cost of production has also been rising every year:
All of which is typical of a resource on its depletion curve. Complaints and theories are easy to understand, but the physical reality suggests that the price is going nowhere but up, and supply (more and more difficult to extract) will only keep coming if the price keeps rising.
JNathanK
(185 posts)...and they charge as high as the market will bare when it comes retail pricing. It seems they use any type of natural disaster, economic downturn, or political tension in the world as a pretense to raise gas prices. Those trading in oil, or any raw commodity for that matter, have a fetish for human tragedy, because that means big bucks for them when it happens.
I personally think that the Iraq war was about cutting a major source of oil off in the world to create scarcity, which benefited oil companies. That's why gas prices shot up so much during the Bush years.
GeorgeGist
(25,293 posts)It's not a theory.