How much is Petrol/Gasoline in your area?

Just watch and see if it don't turn out that way. Oh the great mystery!!! The only thing that could help the Republicans in this election is "things go better in Iraq" which it is worse, and "gas prices go down" which they are now going down. "what a miracle".

 

Just got it for 2.14 today. I hope it keeps dropping!

 

$2.16 here today

 

$2.34 is the lowest I've seen here today....I would love to see it under $2.00. My neighbor said he heard it would be down to $1.15 before it stabilized---Do you believe in miracles?????

Bro Tony

 

Down to $2.16 here today. We need a good gas war!

 

I don't know about Bush, since he didn't seem to have much of a head for running businesses, but the price of oil is very much set by supply and demand, and this latest run of high prices was very much the result of American oil companies cutting back refinery production, combined with the pre-set, timed news releases about how the war in Iraq drove the price up, and this particular pipeline attack drove the price up. Speculators abounded as the price of a barrel of oil rose at the same time companies were cutting gasoline production. Of course, the normal course of events always includes a refinery disaster here, a weather event there, but those generally do not cause a noticeable effect in the price of gasoline because the supply has been abundant enough to simply make up the shortages out of storage. Does Cheney have enough pull in the oil industry to create a "shortage" to cause speculation to drive the price up. You better believe he does.

All those news releases over the past couple of years gave speculators the feeding they needed to create a frenzy. The War in Iraq. Pipeline cut to Kuwait. Increased threat of terror. Venezuela having bad relations with the US so Chavez raised the price. And when was the last time that a major hurricane crossing the Gulf accounted for a 20 cent increase in gasoline? Bret back in the mid 90's did more damage than Katrina or Rita, and ultimately had no effect on the price at all. Propaganda did, this time, though.

A couple of things have happened since then to drive it back down and take the pressure off. One, a couple of our cash-strapped suppliers decided to increase their production in order to cash in on the high price. Mexico was going through a hotly contested election, so they stepped up their production to cause the price there to drop, a move designed to favor the candidate Presidente Fox was supporting. As long as the Mexican government needs money, Mexico can always be counted on to step out of line, ignore the corporate heads in the US and OPEC, and throw the supply and demand balance in favor of the consumer. Likewise, Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, in spite of his rhetoric, bumped up production to compete with Mexico. When Bush was feeling the political pressure, and the oil barons feared the price was reaching a threshold, especially after the summer season was over, and released oil from the national reserves, that kicked the cart over. In addition, in spite of rhetoric from the press that Americans were still driving just as much as ever, and consuming just as much gasoline as ever, the facts finally came out that this past summer, gasoline sales were almost 15% below what they were in the previous year. I'm guessing that the final figures, which will be due out in October for this past summer season, will show that it dropped more than that.

Then there is, of course, the election. Although gas prices are not a major issue according to the polls, they might make the difference in some close races. You better believe there was some pressure there.

If you want to know exactly why the price of oil went so high, and who was responsible for it, check the dividend profit checks of any major oil investor. Their profits increased fourfold during this period of time, which means that, instead of continuing to sell gas for $1.39, and bringing home $1 million, they raised the price and brought home $4 million while spending roughly the same amount to produce it. It was nothing more than an income shift, from the pockets of the consumer class to fewer than 1% of the investor class.

 

It's 2.25 now.

 

It's around $2.38 here in Lebanon

 

Correct, and if he bombed the OJ then the investors would make the money. If he just threatened the OJ company would make money. But the president does not directly set the price. Agreed the policies and actions of our goverment affect commodaties.

Wrong. Oil companies do not raise or lower the price of oil. Futures traders raise and lower the price of oil. In your first paragraph you acknowleged that prices were based upon traders speculation of the avalability of the product, ie. OJ crops being bombed, reducing supply and raising prices causing traders to buy futures and drive prices up. TRADERS set the prices not oil companies.

Agreed policies affect prices. They are not directly set.

 

Do they affect the price of a barrel of oil? They could possibly affect it. However, the oil companies usually have a direct hand in the price of gas at the pump. My aunt works for Phillips, and her job is setting the gas prices. A man at our church who owned a station up until recently was told how much he could sell his gasoline for. Sometimes, the oil company would want a gas war, and they would tell him to sell it at a loss and then would reimburse him. Although he did have a little leeway, the company sent the guidelines down the pipe, and if he didn't abide by the rules, they would shut him out. (There are independent retailers who are exempt from this, but they can also be blackballed if they're not careful.)

 

I saw a buck ninety-eight today, on the road. Way I read it, that's under two smackers.

Ed

 

Well said, DeeJay.

Ed

 

I never cease to be amazed at some who never saw a conspiracy they didn't like. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Ed

 

Selling gas at a loss is against the law. There is a margin + and - that the stations can sell gas for above or below their price. The local Phillips 66 has some small amount they can decide to sell for we are talking about pennies. The real difference in price depends on price of oil.

 

:applause:

If our schools would teach even the most basics of how our economy works, some of these conspiracies would die fast.

 

Just took Tony to work and it was $2.13, in Glasgow where we try to get it it is probably around $2.09

 

I drove to a town 30 miles away for an appointment today and the gas was $2.04.

It is still $2.14 in our town.

Does that make any sense???

 

It's still $2.49 here...
So you should feel blessed.