Gasoline prices could keep falling ($2 by Thanksgiving?)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2006-08-29-gas-price-usat_x.htm

Gasoline prices are falling fast and could keep dropping for months.

"The only place they have to go is down," says Fred Rozell, gasoline analyst at the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS). "We'll be closer to $2 than $3 come Thanksgiving."

Travel organization AAA foresees prices 10 cents a gallon lower by the end of next week. It reported a nationwide average of $2.84 Tuesday, the lowest since April 20.

It's good news for consumers and the economy. Continued lower prices "may act like a tax cut" and stimulate spending, says Richard DeKaser, chief economist at National City in Cleveland. He calculates that higher energy prices the first six months cut growth of consumer spending 1 percentage point.

<snip>

OPIS' Rozell figures prices will jump again next spring.

The article attributes the drop to End of Summer, Sluggish Demand, and Petroleum Traders selling their holdings. Yeah right, I attibute it to the oil companies running scared that their patron GOP shills may be kicked out of office in Nov if the voters are pissed.

[ckramer]

1. "See, everything is fine. So let's keep Republicans in Congress"

They will do anything to stay in power!

[Ishoutandscream2]

29. Ding, ding, ding! Yes, we have a winner

Get those prices down before mid-terms. Yeah, big oil knows what's at stake.

[Strelnikov_]

30. Yep. My Bet Is They Start Rising Just After That Tues In Nov

BP announces 400 k bbl/dy reduction in production (Alaska), and prices start to fall.

No market manipulation there . . .

[Kikosexy2]

37. I will only vote...

Republican come Nov. if the gas prices drop to 75 cents a gallon....Ha! fooled you!

[anitar1]

43. Gas prices. Fooled me, you rascal. n/t

[Kikosexy2]

46. Fool me once...

fool me twice...ah fuhgutabbutit.

[No Exit]

48. "Ya can't get fooled ag'in!"

Just finishing the epic Quote From Our Genius President. :)

[MikeyJones]

44. I guess Karl Rove is making the phone calls to all the oil execs begging..

for help. He knows otherwise he's going to lose Congress in November.

[No Exit]

47. YUP!!! You got it!!!

"Get in the car, little girl. Wasn't that a nice ice cream cone I bought you? There, sit right here in this nice soft car seat... I'll drive you home to mommy and daddy... WHAM!!!! HA HA HA!!! I LIKE HITTING YOU!!! CRY SOME MORE, LITTLE GIRL!!!"

Yes, the Repukes are the CHILD MOLESTERS, and we the voters are the children, being given sweet things like low gas prices (and no war in Iran or military draft just yet, don't worry), just long enough so we'll get in their car and they can take us for a nice ride... to FUCKING HELL.

[eccles12]

55. How really low will these MFs go? Proves that the price did not need

to go up in the first place except to give oil companies and their stockholders a windfall.

[CanOfWhoopAss]

57. Not even Hurricane Ernesto could jack up the prices.

Last year a sun shower with a good breeze was reason to panick about oil production.

[PSPS]

2. They really are pulling outall the stops, aren't they?

Notice Thanksgiving is after the election, so this may be "vapor."

[saigon68]

3. SOME ONE IS SMOKING CRACK

BOOKMARK THIS THREAD

FOR THE

I TOLD YOU SO (YOU WERE CRAZY) ETC ETC

[LynneSin]

8. I actually wouldn't be surprised if it does drop

Because if people are paying $3/gal at election time then they will have an anti-incumbancy attitude with voting which will benefit democrats.

But we're dealing with a population of a people that have a memory that rivals a gnat with ADHD. If the gasoline gets below $2 at election time then voters will totally forget what happened.

ANd who controls the oil industry

:shrug:

[saigon68]

17. a population of a people that have a memory that rivals DUST MITES

LOL

[HereSince1628]

11. Yeah, well, BEFORE thanksgiving they might be low but during

TG weekend you can bet there will be "demand" that will kick the price up.

[Cha]

25. I bookmarked

it! :)

[leftyladyfrommo]

4. Ours dropped again over nite.

We are down to 2.679 now and we were at 2.97 or something just lasttime I filled up.

[Delphinus]

28. Down to $2.59 here (NE IN)

and I believe the ONLY reason it's going down is because the repubs fear they're going down!

[leftyladyfrommo]

33. Whoa - now we are down to 2.579

What is going on?

[LiberalEsto]

5. It must be ELECTION season

By mid-November prices will be up to $3.50 a gallon

[underpants]

9. DING DING DING that is exactly what I was thinking on the way in

$2.65 here in Richmond....Sen. Allen in a bit of a tough spot....what's the American Petroleum Institute to do??? Oh I am not buying the "oh they wouldn't do that" excuse or the "everything is not a conspiracy" on this they would could and WILL do that if that is what it takes. Let's not kid ourselves.

[LiberalEsto]

20. Didn't GW* once claim his oil industry contacts

would help keep prices down? This was back when he was running in 2000, and gas prices went up to $1.88 a gallon during the Clinton era.

Such hypocrisy and lies.

[No Exit]

49. Thank you! I had a vague memory of his saying that, too.

So the other day I'm talking to a wingnut friend (whom I try to persuade at every opportunity) and I say, "This is what we get when we put Big Oil in the white house."
And he says, "They're ALL Big Oil".
And I say, "Yes, but there IS a difference btw actually being in the oil industry and/or having one's wealth in and from oil, and simply being another politician who accepts gifts from Big Oil."

I'm gonna keep working on him.

[Ezlivin]

6. It will only be a temporary downturn

This lowering of price is artificial; that is, there are no "true" market forces pushing the price down.

I agree with your assessment of this as a purely political ploy.

[Thor_MN]

54. There were no true forces pushing it up

other than speculation and people making shitloads of money.

Not that I'm arguing it wasn't political, I'm just saying that they have been prepping this for years....

[leftyladyfrommo]

7. I think the gas companies are running scared

It's called major price gouging.

[ItNerd4life]

10. And the supply vs. demand reasons for this are?

Oh, there aren't any. It's Big Oil trying to keep their buddies in office. I'm SHOCKED! SHOCKED I say!

[Lowell]

12. This is the October surprise

gas priced manipulated. Big oil in the WH. Hits $2 buck a gallon just before the election then jumps back up to $3.50 the next day.

[seriousstan]

27. Then explain why the prices were at record highs in the '04 election.

Exactly how did that help the Reps during one of the closes predicted elections in history? Why didn't they "pull out all the stops" then?

[No Exit]

50. I remember the prices being below $2.00/gal at that time.

And... why didn't the REPUKES pull out all the stops then? They didn't need to... they knew already that they had DIEBOLD on their side.

[flyarm]

13. still $3.15 by me in NJ...n/t

[mcscajun]

14. "The only place they have to go is down,"???

:wtf:kind of B.S. is that?

Analyst? He's a shill.

It's been dropping here in Northern NJ for the last week or so, it's well below $3.00 already and still dropping.

[IronLionZion]

18. go down or go up or stay the same

those are the only places they can go :sarcasm:

this is obvious electioneering unless they can show proof of the market forces at work here.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

15. Big Oil trying to put a turkey in every legislature.

Thanks, but no thanks.

[Warpy]

16. This is the time of year they usually tell us

that prices are increasing because refineries are switching over to winter formulas (bullshit).

I honestly don't expect prices to fall much below a $2.50 national average. There is only so much of a hit the oil companies are willing to take to protect the little emperor.

Then we all know what will happen in mid November.

[denverbill]

19. I think they'll start heading up again right before Thanksgiving.

Once the election is over, it's time to fuck over the public again.

[gratuitous]

21. Really, Mr. Rozell?

And what if those prices aren't down, closer to $2 a gallon than $3 a gallon? Will you personally be paying the difference when I fill up? Will you lose your job? Will your credibility be damaged in the least? Or will you continue drawing a fat salary for basically doing nothing and publicly saying wrong things? Who pays the bills at OPIS? And if you're not fired, demoted or at the very least penalized salary-wise, does that mean your pronouncement here at the end of August -- right (unlikely) or horribly wrong -- was precisely what your boss wanted you to say? And to what purpose would OPIS lie?

But then, those are questions that would occur to a journalist, a reporter, you know, someone in the professional media, who's similarly drawing a fat salary, and whose paycheck similarly depends on him or her not seeing what's plainly before their eyes.

[AValdoux]

22. $ 2.49 in Texas n/t

[RamboLiberal]

23. Bit more extensive story at CNN

<snip>

Gilman said retail gasoline prices of around $2 a gallon by Thanksgiving were certainly possible, although not likely.

He said crude prices would need to drop by about $20 a barrel to have that effect, and he just didn't see any major catalyst that would cause such a decline over the next three months.

Kloza said several factors are behind the recent gasoline price declines: the end of the summer driving season, which reduces consumer demand for gasoline as well as the end of seasonal federal requirements on gas that makes the cost of importing and refining it cheaper.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/08/30/news/economy/gas_prices/index.htm?cnn=yes

Wonder if the American morans will go back to their SUV's before election day? Bet if the Dems take the House and/or Senate the prices may not jump that dramatically since Big Oil may be afraid of investigations, but if Republicons keep both houses look out the rest of 2006-2007!

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

24. Now, we can't have that nonsense, can we?

A few weeks ago they promised us $4 gas within the month, and now THIS? Flip flop, sez I. Pure and simple.

They just can't make up their minds about ANYTHING.

[Julius Civitatus]

26. Gas prices drop 10 cents!!! Time to buy that spanking new SUV

Yipeeeeee!!!!!

Buy, buy, buy!

Consume, consume, consume!!!!

Bigger cars, bigger cars!!!



:sarcasm:

[Larkspur]

31. But in the Northeast, heating oil prices are about 20 cents higher than

last year, so while auto gas is going down, those of us with heating oil contracts are paying more than last year per gallon.

[Miss Chybil]

32. Yeah for lower prices. F the people who ran them up in the first place! nt

[NickB79]

34. Just one hurricane in the Gulf and oil will jump overnight

A Cat. 3-4 size hurricane coming up into the oil-production zones of the Gulf of Mexico like Katrina did would destroy more oil rigs and send oil skyrocketting. There are still several months of hurricane season left this year.

Alternately, any action against Iran over their nuclear program would sent oil skyrocketting.

Both of these actions seem quite possible over the next few months, so I won't hold my breath waiting for $2/gal gas.

[Skink]

35. W's been Jawboning his buddies back at the ranch.

He's always workin.

[onenote]

36. the retail price drop is in line with the drop in crude prices

The average price of a barrel of crude has dropped to around where it was in April, and the average price of a gallon at the pump is approaching a similar level (although its still higher). If this was just the oil companies lowering the price for political reasons (a) they'd do it closer to the election and (b) they'd do it notwithstanding the drop in the price of crude. If crude goes up again, which it might if something happens to increase the risk to supply (weather related or otherwise), the price at the pump will go up again, election or no election.

[jsamuel]

38. TOLD YOU!!!!!!!!!

So... when is everyone going to start unloading their oil stocks?

It may not drop as fast as the article says, but like I said in my post, if I were invested in oil, now would be when I would sell. It has peaked.

[Ilsa]

39. They came down again here. Now it's $2.54 a gallon in South TX. nt

[AnneD]

40. While there may be a grain of truth ....

about the drop before the Election. I think it has more to do with the FBI's investigation of some insider trading that went on during some specific dates. The prices started droping like a rock after the FBI announcement-even when there was plenty of factors that would have suggested a rise in prices. No one on Wall Street is sure who is being investigated, but there is lots of guesses, The last 2 years of price hikes have been suspect. I mean really, to go up 10 cents over night when it is the exact same gas in the underground storage tank...gimme a break or gimme ky.

[Briarius]

41. Too bad diesel won't do the same...

it's close to fuel oil (heating) season now, so don't look for this to lower the prices on delivered goods. Gas here has dropped at least 20cents $2.89 and diesel is still the same price $3.19 :( At least I only need to fill up about once a week!

[MikeyJones]

42. I guess the oil speculators don't want a boycott

or sanctions. People are getting tired of the fact that gasoline prices have risen more in the past 4 years of George Dubya Bush's administration than in the previous 12 years of the administrations of his father and Bill Clinton and the first 2 years of his administration.

The war in Iraq acted like a detonator on a bomb and blew open the flood gates and all the oil speculators went crazy and started shooting up the price from $1.40 a gallon in February 2003(a month before the war started)where I live to about $2.95 where I live at the peak price roughly a month ago.

Was it government/corporate collusion to jack up the price? As the old Tootsie Pop commercial asked:

"The world may never know?"

How truly fucking sad.

[MikeyJones]

45. Why aren't the speculators going apeshit over the new hurricane.....

the same way last year they did after Katrina and Rita when every single little tropical storm coming into the Gulf of Mexico was hyped up to be the next huge Killer but it actually turned out to be little more than a few bad storms throwing their weight around over there.

[CatholicEdHead]

51. Down to $2.67 here

[Master of Disaster]

52. And they will rise again sometime around Memorial Day of '07.

:boring:

[benny05]

53. Don't Bet On It

Despite elections, if another nasty hurricane comes through the Gulf region, it will rise again.

[Anakin Skywalker]

56. Yay! Just in time for big, bad

tough macho Americans to hop into their manly SUVs and drive across the country again. :)

[Javaman]

58. Or at least until november 8th, when they start climbing again...nt

[Felix Mala]

59. The execs are rolling in enough dough to keep them in yachts and hookers

for years.

[demo dutch]

60. They'll go BACK UP after Election Day! Just wait and see!

[Casablanca]

62. There's a quote in the article stating exactly that.

Gas prices back up next spring. Enjoy the brief election season respite.

[demo dutch]

63. Gas prices down-War mongering up! It must be an election year!

[Massachusetts]

61. BU$HCO drug and S&M policy for Americans

Cattle prod in one hand (Terror) and Prozac in the other (gasoline)