Gas prices and why ?

[no2guncntrl]

Well we are all of are paying out the keyster for giddy up. Out here in the
I.E. It's anywhere from 3.99 up to [gasp] 4.89 a gal. Ca requires a change
from winter to summer blends, but I'm thinking that's a Ca deal, it might
be the Feds. [I DID read the TAX CHARGE for gas out here.. At least $.060
on the gallon.]

So I'm asking, how much are you paying right now, do you see it hitting
5.00 or more gal and why ? Is it because the natives are rising hell over
in Libya or what ?

How can the private sector hope to get this economy going again when
it it us little guys 60.00 to 200.00+ to fill up, not to mention over the
road companies that have to pay killer prices for diesel..

Please enlighten !! All input from all sides is most welcomed.

And if we aren't the only ones, what's Europe paying ?]

Where's Enmore ? I bet this is a subject even he might get into trouble
for when it comes to petrol..

[Keven]

The Middle East uncertainty is a part of it. It's not just Libya, but the whole region is unstable.

Inflation is also part of it. The US Dollar is becoming increasingly worthless. So, the value of a barrel of oil is going up, but what we use to measure that value (US Dollars) is getting smaller.

[no2guncntrl]

I agree with ya on that Keven. The BUCK is in serious trouble against...the Yen ?

[Keven]

And if we aren't the only ones, what's Europe paying ?]

Where's Enmore ? I bet this is subject even he might get into trouble
when it comes to petrol..

European countries actually pay a lot more than us for fuel. They pay about $9-10/gallon if you converted liter to gallon and Euro/Pound to USD. But, most of that is taxes.

The United States has actually had fairly cheap fuel for most of our history when compared to Europe. I'm not saying that the gas price hikes of the last 10 years are okay, and I don't like dishing out $70 to fill up my truck, but it is what it is.

You want to get a headache? Gas is about $0.14/gallon in Venezuela.

[Keven]

I agree with ya on that Keven. The BUCK is in serious trouble against...the Yen ?

The dollar is weak all over the place - against the Yen, the Chinese yuan, the Euro, the pound, the Australian and Canadian dollars.

[madhatter256]

Prices are this way because of one thing.... market manipulation.

I remember living in PR and prices there never shot up when hurricane hugo (our version of andrew) was about to hit. But when hurricane charlie was about to hit FL, prices shot up sky high. Any little national disaster sends prices sky high nowadays than before.

It's not OPEC, it's not Venezuela that prices are this high. They don't have the control they used to have. Venezuela may have "control" over their oil rigs, but it's the oil companies that have full authority, kinda like an embassy. This is almost the same in OPEC countries. Libya didn't control their oil fields, the companies do. The major countries like Russia, China, USA, etc. are in control of the oil supply chain, this is what dictates prices nowadays.

So basically, don't blame the middle east, blame our own country and the people we elect that allow the companies to get away with it.

[no2guncntrl]

I trip a lot guys, so bear with me..Red China has the money and Ivan ain't
doing too bad either. Red China has made a LOT of headway into the
middle east, especially when it comes to those that are siting on black gold.

Ivan has come up with a HUGE amount of dough to update their military..
They'll need a lot of fuel for their projects..

So whats a better way to wage a "war" and see a country that has been
seen as the most powerful for many decades..succumb to it's own
dependence on something that it needs, but at the same time is it's
crux ?

What's the fix ?

[madhatter256]

The Middle East uncertainty is a part of it. It's not just Libya, but the whole region is unstable.

Inflation is also part of it. The US Dollar is becoming increasingly worthless. So, the value of a barrel of oil is going up, but what we use to measure that value (US Dollars) is getting smaller.

Dollar strength really doesn't play that big of a role. Dollar may be 'weak' but in reality, the euro is in near collapse if IMF has to bail out Portugal, Ireland, Spain, and some eastern europe countries. Countries that switched their reserves to Euro are desperately switching back to the US dollar.

[madhatter256]

I trip a lot guys, so bear with me..Red China has the money and Ivan ain't
doing too bad either. Red China has made a LOT of headway into the
middle east, especially when it comes to those that are siting on black gold.

Ivan has come up with a HUGE amount of dough to update their military..
They'll need a lot of fuel for their projects..

So whats a better way to wage a "war" and see a country that has been
seen as the most powerful for many decades..succumb to it's own
dependence on something that it needs, but at the same time is it's
crux ?

What's the fix ?

Russia has natural gas, so it can easily trade, and with their "look-the-other-way" attitude when it comes to human rights, etc. they tend to get more business with 'rogue' countries, like Iran. The same with china.

[madhatter256]

I paid $35 to fill up my car . Gotta love japanese engineering.

[Keven]

Prices are this way because of one thing.... market manipulation.

I remember living in PR and prices there never shot up when hurricane hugo (our version of andrew) was about to hit. But when hurricane charlie was about to hit FL, prices shot up sky high. Any little national disaster sends prices sky high nowadays than before.

It's not OPEC, it's not Venezuela that prices are this high. They don't have the control they used to have. Venezuela may have "control" over their oil rigs, but it's the oil companies that have full authority, kinda like an embassy. This is almost the same in OPEC countries. Libya didn't control their oil fields, the companies do. The major countries like Russia, China, USA, etc. are in control of the oil supply chain, this is what dictates prices nowadays.

So basically, don't blame the middle east, blame our own country and the people we elect that allow the companies to get away with it.

Market speculation is why the price of oil moves the way it does, but it isn't the cause.

Uncertainties in supply, like the Middle East trouble or hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, causes volatility in the supply of petroleum. This causes the Oil Futures to be more expensive.

[Keven]

Dollar strength really doesn't play that big of a role. Dollar may be 'weak' but in reality, the euro is in near collapse if IMF has to bail out Portugal, Ireland, Spain, and some eastern europe countries. Countries that switched their reserves to Euro are desperately switching back to the US dollar.

Sure it does. Where did you go to college? Did you study economics at all?

[Keven]

I trip a lot guys, so bear with me..Red China has the money and Ivan ain't
doing too bad either. Red China has made a LOT of headway into the
middle east, especially when it comes to those that are siting on black gold.

Ivan has come up with a HUGE amount of dough to update their military..
They'll need a lot of fuel for their projects..

So whats a better way to wage a "war" and see a country that has been
seen as the most powerful for many decades..succumb to it's own
dependence on something that it needs, but at the same time is it's
crux ?

What's the fix ?

I support more drilling in the United States. Ultimately, oil is a finite resource and we will need to move to something like natural gas or ethanol for cars in the interim and electric or hydrogen cars in the long-term.

[Keven]

Dollar strength really doesn't play that big of a role. Dollar may be 'weak' but in reality, the euro is in near collapse if IMF has to bail out Portugal, Ireland, Spain, and some eastern europe countries. Countries that switched their reserves to Euro are desperately switching back to the US dollar.

WTI Crude Oil Prices
April 7th, 2010
US Dollar - $90
Euro - €66.88
Chinese Yuan - 元614.16
Japanese Yen - ¥8406.90

April 7th, 2011
US Dollar - $110 (22% increase)
Euro - €76.93 (15% increase)
Chinese Yuan - 元719.62 (17% increase)
Japanese Yen - ¥9342.30 (11% increase)

Oh, I guess the weakening US dollar doesn't have anything to do with the increased price of oil in the United States...

There have already been calls from European markets for the world to start measuring the price of oil in Euros (petroeuros) instead of USDs (petrodollars).

[no2guncntrl]

This is from the American Pundit and I don't know. I've never bought into
this Obama guy .I think the answer is with us, the working stiffs. We'll only
take so much, When the wives get pissed and start yelling at the husbands
and make stuff at home nasty, then phones ring at the places that count..

I.E. Washington. The election isn't THAT far off..Anyway >

Obama to Americans: Get Used to High Gas
Prices

by Stephan Tawney on April 6, 2011

Barack Obama has a message for Americans hurting from high gas prices: Get used to them.

“I’m just going to be honest with you. There’s not much
we can do next week or two weeks from now,” the president
told workers at a wind turbine plant. It’s a theme Obama’s
struck before as he tries to show voters he’s attuned to a top
economic concern with gas prices pushing toward $4 a gallon.

Obama said he wants to move toward “a future where America
is less dependent on foreign oil, more reliant on clean energy
produced by workers like you.” That will happen by reducing
oil imports, tapping domestic energy sources and shifting the
nation to renewable and less polluting sources of energy, such
as wind, the president says. He has set a goal of reducing oil
imports by one-third by 2025.

And I’ve set a goal of powering my house on unicorn farts and
bubblegum. We have about the same likelihood of success.
But at least my fantasy plans aren’t going to cost Americans
countless money and hardship.

One questioner asked Obama about high gas prices and what
could be done about them. Obama’s answer? To tell the guy
to buy a new car that gets better gas mileage. I’m not joking.
He said that.

If Obama really cared about high gas prices he’d permit expanded
domestic resource exploration. America has vast yet untapped
oil and natural gas resources. But instead of utilizing those
God-given resources, Obama prefers to bow to his political
allies in the extreme environmentalist community and insist
on pursuing pie-in-the-sky solutions.

I got to tell ya, when Mom comes home with her Son or Daughter
and tells her Husband that the kids didn't make it to baseball
or soccer practice because it cost too much to put gas in the
family-mobile, then shit WILL hit the fan..

Last thing Pop needs is the wife bitchin' about the kids not making it
to practice or the game, and it all rolls from there. I've seen females
talking in groups outside schools and such..

That is a friggin'n hornets nest.

See the bottom line with females vs males is..Guys will get into fights, etc
then in a couple weeks it'll boil over by offering a cold one etc, and it's
a done deal most times.

When it comes the Female, they may forgive, BUT THEY NEVER FORGET !
Specially when it comes to the kids not making after school play.


[From Destry]

High bucks for gas ? We'll deal with it to a certain point...Then it's on.