Why gas is getting so expensive

Let's entertain this idea, does it make sense?

The oil producing countries are being pressured (or enticed) to trade oil in a currency other than the dollar. The United States, knowing this would be the undoing of its currency, agrees to pay a higher price for oil if the oil producing countries agree to keep the dollar pegged to oil. This in turn purposely creates oil that is too expensive for developing China & India, keeping those countries trading in dollars for expensive oil, and allowing America to maintain it's superpower status.

Yes? No? Possible?

It's likely. People enjoy fear, hence the blowing up of proportions, even I do most of the time, so that's why gotta be aware. The simplest explanation is likely the one.

And to add upon that. How we live right now, is compared to kings say.. 300 years ago. We are a demanding bunch, always wanting more and more at the least cost possible.

Isn't that the reason for pretty much everything? If the USD is at stake, send in the intel agencies to pull some strings.

We will continue to protect Saudia Arabia as long as they keep exchanging USD they get from oil, and use it to purchase US Treasury bonds to keep our govt afloat. Not sure how America was able to manage that heck of a deal...

reply to post by againuntodust


What makes more sense is that if you use gold or silver or even oil as a stable currency you begin to realize that gas is no more expensive now than it was last year at this time. It only seems more expensive because of the de-valuation of the dollar.

This is also supported by the recent increase in food prices at the Grocery store and commodity prices world wide.

It is also supported by the recent increase in Gold and Silver markets around the world. I bought silver at 17.00 an oz last August and it is trading today at over 43.00 an oz.

People are starting to understand that the only way to maintain the value of their assets is to own and hold things like Gold, Silver, and Oil. Those who do nothing to protect the value of their assets and continue to believe that all is well with the US Dollar, will continue to think that everything is getting more and more expensive, instead of realizing that their money is worth less and less. This is called inflation. Thanks to QE2 for all you have done. Thanks to MSM for all you didn't do.

This is really going to get ugly.

Oil prices are intentionally going through the roof because the oil companies need to help pay for Obama re-election campaign.

The reason gas in the United States has gotten so expensive is really quite simple: it's all about speculators driving the price up trying to make a quick buck.

None of the uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa have affected the US fuel supply, but if they spread, they could. That's the logic here, if say Saudi Arabia or Kuwait have a revolution, well then that will possibly put the pinch on the oil America needs every day.

This potentiality creates a new risk for the oil industry, and any time a commodity gets some new form of risk, really no matter how remote, people in the futures market for that commodity will start to inflate the price of oil by buying at higher rates. It's not just one company, or government or anything driving the price up but an entire set of investors whom are getting spooked by what they see happening in oil producing regions. Now Libya does not supply the US with oil at all, their stuff comes over here to Europe, but if it can happen there, there's a chance, however slight, that it can happen elsewhere too.

reply to post by ProjectJimmy


Finally an intelligent post grounded in reality, thank you.


Not everything is some grand conspiracy this is supply + demand + speculation that can be watched openly traded on the futures markets everyday.

Originally posted by ProjectJimmy
The reason gas in the United States has gotten so expensive is really quite simple: it's all about speculators driving the price up trying to make a quick buck.

How exactly does a speculator drive up the price of oil? That's like saying that because everybody bet on a particular race horse, that made the horse run fastest and win the race. That's absurd. It's supply and demand that determines price in a free market.

The only way for 'speculators' to drive up the price is by "cornering" the market, in which the speculator has such a dominance over future deliveries that people are forced to buy at his inflated price. However, that is strictly illegal.

It's just the same old, same old in the oil patch. Like the founder, John D. Rockefellor said, "Competition is a sin."

The Saudi's and OPEC are playing games that's why. Its only going to get worse as Summer grows nearer.

Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi says the world oil market is oversupplied and that the world's top oil exporter has already reduced production due to weak demand.

Consumers have urged OPEC to quickly add supply to quell the rally that has taken oil to its highest level in two and a half years amid unrest in North Africa and the Middle East.

"The market is overbalanced... Our production in February was 9.125 million barrels per day (bpd), in March it was 8.292 million bpd. In April we don't know yet, probably a little higher than March. The reason I gave you these numbers is to show you that the market is oversupplied," Mr Naimi told reporters.

Two Saudi-based industry sources told Reuters last week the kingdom had cut production by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) in response to weak demand.

OPEC officials have strongly rejected responsibility for high oil prices in recent weeks but Mr Naimi's words are the clearest indication yet that the group is unconvinced there is a need for more oil and that OPEC may well leave its policies unchanged at its June meeting.

www.businessspectator.com.au...

reply to post by starviego


Speculators, ultimately, is exactly what drives up the prices.

Sure inflation and supply and demand helps, but ultimately its a group of guys in a room looking at events and what is coming up (Memorial Day here in the US, the "official" start of summer, more car trips) that decide how much gas will be.

60 Minutes did a piece on it a couple of years back.

Gas is so expensive because this time around we have not decided to stop paying for it. They will take as much of our money as we are willing to give. Remember last summer? Prices went up to what was the "new" normal, right around 3 dollars. The summer before that the new normal was what...2.50? That's all because we all agreed with our wallets that that would be the "fair market price". They jack up prices, see what we will pay, once we stop consuming at the same rate they drop down to a price we all agree to. That's how the game is played.

The blame is with the speculators, or surging demand in India and China, or some war breaking out somewhere, or--the perennial favorite--the A-rabs and their OPEC. But one thing it NEVER, EVER is is collusive activity on the part of the infamous 'seven sisters' of the oil patch--Exxon, Mobil, Texaco, Shell, Chevron, BP, or Amoco. Oh no, don't look there.

Originally posted by iamsupermanv2
.... ultimately its a group of guys in a room looking at events and what is coming up (Memorial Day here in the US, the "official" start of summer, more car trips) that decide how much gas will be.

In which case this should be of extreme interest to the Anti-Trust Division of the Justice Department. But it isn't, and it won't be. Which is exactly the problem.

Gas is so expensive (and will continue to get more expensive), because several oil producing nations have reached peak oil output. Scarcity = higher costs.

However, Sadad al-Husseini, a geologist and former head of exploration at the Saudi oil monopoly Aramco, met the US consul general in Riyadh in November 2007 and told the US diplomat that Aramco's 12.5m barrel-a-day capacity needed to keep a lid on prices could not be reached.

According to the cables, which date between 2007-09, Husseini said Saudi Arabia might reach an output of 12m barrels a day in 10 years but before then – possibly as early as 2012 – global oil production would have hit its highest point. This crunch point is known as "peak oil".

Husseini said that at that point Aramco would not be able to stop the rise of global oil prices because the Saudi energy industry had overstated its recoverable reserves to spur foreign investment. He argued that Aramco had badly underestimated the time needed to bring new oil on tap.

One cable said: "According to al-Husseini, the crux of the issue is twofold. First, it is possible that Saudi reserves are not as bountiful as sometimes described, and the timeline for their production not as unrestrained as Aramco and energy optimists would like to portray."

It went on: "In a presentation, Abdallah al-Saif, current Aramco senior vice-president for exploration, reported that Aramco has 716bn barrels of total reserves, of which 51% are recoverable, and that in 20 years Aramco will have 900bn barrels of reserves.

"Al-Husseini disagrees with this analysis, believing Aramco's reserves are overstated by as much as 300bn barrels. In his view once 50% of original proven reserves has been reached … a steady output in decline will ensue and no amount of effort will be able to stop it. He believes that what will result is a plateau in total output that will last approximately 15 years followed by decreasing output."

The US consul then told Washington: "While al-Husseini fundamentally contradicts the Aramco company line, he is no doomsday theorist. His pedigree, experience and outlook demand that his predictions be thoughtfully considered."

www.guardian.co.uk...

In short, oil is plentiful under the ground, but the cheap, easy to extract crude isn't. Most of what's left is trapped in shale or in other difficult-to-reach areas where the cost to extract is too high (or dangerous) for companies to venture. That is why we are seeing governments secure oil fields in the mid east (Iraq anyone?) This is also why we are beginning to see a grudging push from the establishment toward alternative energy.

Everyone likes to paint the big oil companies as the deliberate evil doers. However, one fact remains when you compare the LOW profit margins of oil companies (between 8 and 9%) to that of a company like Apple which maintains a profit margin of around 40%. Do you know how little it costs to make an I pad or I phone in relation to its selling price. If you play by shear numbers Apple is your evil doer and those lining up to buy the products are suckers for buying into the scam. 6 months from now your new toy will be old hat. I can't say that about oil and gasoline.

Extracting oil is an expensive process and the state, local and federal govts take there fair share in any an all forms of taxes.

iPad profit margin

because we're stupid enough to pay what they want . . .

Let's make two piles . . . the first will be comprised of the people that have changed a their lifestyle in response to the price increases such that there is not as much of a demand . . .

In the other pile, we'll throw on everyone who's pissed and moaned about gas prices, yet haven't done diddley bupkiss el squatomire in terms of cutting back to show 'them' they don't call all the shots.

Guess which pile's gonna be bigger?