Oil price plummeting, while gas price unwavering

What is going on here, the global markets are getting hammered and have been for months. Oil is down almost 20% simce the beginning of summer, yet gas prices are barely moving at all.

In the past during market crashes you'd at least see gas come down too - yet oil now hovers at $84-85 a barrel and there is absolutely no relief at the pumps whatsoever (at least in the US).

What the heck is going on here, what sinister forces are at play? I don't believe gas in the states will ever be below $3.00 again.

It sucks, i know! I think we are seeing Inflation working here. oil has dropped but producing gas and getting it to the pump is rising.

I'd like to know what's up, as well. I had heard about a month ago to expect about a .50 cent/gal decrease. The price hasn't changed at all (3.69 here). Remember when gas first got to 3 dollars a gallon and truckers were stopping their rigs in the streets in protest? Where is that sentiment now?

And, oh, if you haven't made your candidate choice yet for 2012: Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann said that, if elected President, she'd cut the cost of gas to $2/gallon.

...and they call Ron Paul unconventional....

I guess you do not ascribe to the 'Grabem Yourankles' theory of economics.

See, that's when somebody has a whole lotta stuff that everyone needs so they charge whatever the hell they want for it and you can't say squat or they'll just jack the price up some more.

And, when you collectively start bitching about the price, they'll come up with real dandy excuses . . . er . . . reasons for jacking the price up such as . . .

There's a big war down the road so we have to jack up the price just in case something goes wrong and the war down the road comes up the road because they just found out we covertly started that war down the road. . . . or some dandy one such as. . .

There maybe might somehow be a hurricane somewhere near where we may or may not be making the stuff you want to buy so we've got to jack the crap out of the prices so just in case something bad happens from the hurricane that might happen we have enough profits to rebuild anything that might be damaged if something might happen from the hurricane that might happen . . . or something like this . . .

In the summer we have to use special chemicals in the stuff we sell you because in the summer it makes more pollution than in the winter so we have to charge you more for it because in the winter we put other stuff in it to keep it from freezing and stuff like that so we just perpetually jack the crap outta the prices and you keep buying our stuff so quitcherbitchin' . . . or how about this doozy

You really can't set the price of our product by the input. See there's crude input and there's Brent input. We actually like to tell you that we like Brent input even though we don't use it very often because it tears into our profits abit too much. So remember Crude vs. Brent . . . honest . . . . . .

Face it . . . there ain't nothin' sinister here . . .THEY'RE SCREWING YOUR EYES OUT . . . THEY KNOW IT, YOU KNOW IT, EVERYONE ELSE KNOWS IT . . . . . . . so when it comes to gasoline prices, grabem your ankles, grin, bear it and try to think happy thoughts.

It's called Wall Street! Thank them assholes for keeping the prices where they are. As long as they keep "speculating" of a price increase or bounce back then the prices will only continue to stay the same or go up. Thanks Wall Street!

GoalPoster: Thanks for your humorous reply, however it did NOT always used to be that way decades ago, not even 3-4 years ago... Something has changed. When oil dropped, gas was slashed overnight.

$2.00 a gallon used to be absurd a decade ago until people got used to it. Then $3.00 was absurd. You're right you can't "set" a price for gas, but I think the industry is just trying to set a new precedent.

I don't want to point blame as it's likely shared by hundreds of people in power....but perhaps our leader is slightly in over his head or isn't fighting for us anymore.

The first excuse they gave was Irine hit the east coast, now Lee caused the oil platforms in the gulf to shut down.If ya ask me (of course my opinion)it is because the tycoons have seen how they can bleed us and noone says d*ck.If I could sell sno cones for 3.50 a pice and no one protested even though ice was free and syrup was 1.00 I would make a killing.

Gas is also a trailing indicator. Oil purchased weeks or a few months ago is making gasoline now. Gas prices are based on that higher cost. That is the supply side reality of that issue.

In addition, if people will pay 3.85, where is the motive to lower prices?

there is the demand side hook.

The answer plain and simple is greed.

The price per barrel of oil goes up... we see an IMMEDIATE increase at the pumps.

The price per barrel goes down.. it takes weeks to show an effect at the pump. And even then so it is a few cents.

This is a matter of Wall Street greed, as well as gas company greed. They jacked the prices up after Katrina saying "oh refineries were damaged". It was a test. To see how we would respond. Prices have never come back down to pre-Katrina levels, despite crude oil prices coming down.

Look at who makes a huge profit during these times. The Exxon's and the Shells. They purposefully do not build new refineries in the US. They shut down extremely productive ones. Why? Because they can control the supply. They manufacture their own "crisis". There is no shortage of oil. There is a manufactured shortage of gas, simply because there have been no new refineries built in America in over 30 years.

We are being played. Prices are being rigged. New technologies are being snatched up and hidden away. Gas / Oil companies are the biggest thieves on the planet Earth.

reply to post by DerekJR321


Through all accusations there is one thing that 99% of Americans have lost touch with.

To a very large extent we are willing partners in the greed.

As a people, if we organize as groups, we can decide the destiny of these corporations.

Don't like Exxon? Refuse to buy their products. Drive as little as possible and watch prices fall. Organize the closing of a few million BofA accounts in one day... Watch them collapse. Organize class action lawsuits.

Consumers have the ultimate power of life or death over these entities, it just requires cooperation, which we really suck at in this nation where most people barely know their neighbors.

In early 2009 Americans drove 3 billion miles less in a month than the same month in 2008. Oil promptly dropped 100 points!

If consumers set standards for price and refuse to pay more, the seller either lowers the price or goes out of business... If they collapse, someone with a better model WILL replace them, period.

That's the power of an intelligent consumer class, life or death!

Originally posted by Fiberx
reply to post by DerekJR321

 

Through all accusations there is one thing that 99% of Americans have lost touch with.

To a very large extent we are willing partners in the greed.

As a people, if we organize as groups, we can decide the destiny of these corporations.

Don't like Exxon? Refuse to buy their products. Drive as little as possible and watch prices fall. Organize the closing of a few million BofA accounts in one day... Watch them collapse. Organize class action lawsuits.

Consumers have the ultimate power of life or death over these entities, it just requires cooperation, which we really suck at in this nation where most people barely know their neighbors.

In early 2009 Americans drove 3 billion miles less in a month than the same month in 2008. Oil promptly dropped 100 points!

If consumers set standards for price and refuse to pay more, the seller either lowers the price or goes out of business... If they collapse, someone with a better model WILL replace them, period.

That's the power of an intelligent consumer class, life or death!

Fiberx, entirely agree with you - and I am one of those that would happily join such a movement (and have). However when I express myself and these feelings to friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, others online, anyone - there is always a shared, dull sentiment of "that's a great idea, and you're right...but nothing will ever change, so why inconvenience myself..."

You're right that Americans are HORRIBLE at both cooperation and organization. Not just the average citizen of course, hell just look at our political fiasco right now. Congress vs. the White House, the entire system is a joke, nothing can get accomplished, and the result is the fleecing of the middle class and the plummeting of our economy.

With regard to organizing and boycotting gasoline companies, closing BoA accounts, etc, people are just too scared. They're too scared they'll lose their job if they don't go to work a few days, too scared of any ramifications, and so any such movement just fizzles into nothing. This government and the corporate power-brokers have our populous exactly where they want them; existing as scared, weak, timid creatures.

so what is the solution?

nationalize the industry?

start a USA gas/oil company owned by the gov to compete? i like this idea.

come down hard on these clowns at the fed level?

we need more refineries or better ones.

actually i like all the above.

what if the USA goes independent of oil, what will happen to the world's prices?

that is a big market share to loose.

we could make billions a year, doing it ourselves and keeping it in the family.

hey, no more "war for oil" right? lol!

Originally posted by fooks
so what is the solution?

nationalize the industry?

start a USA gas/oil company owned by the gov to compete? i like this idea.

come down hard on these clowns at the fed level?

we need more refineries or better ones.

actually i like all the above.

what if the USA goes independent of oil, what will happen to the world's prices?

that is a big market share to loose.

we could make billions a year, doing it ourselves and keeping it in the family.

hey, no more "war for oil" right? lol!

fooks, I actually really like all of those ideas, but there is just so much money big oil and lobbyists are willing to throw at corrupt politicians for that ever to happen. They'll bring the entire world down on top of itself before they allow themselves to lose this battle, I really believe that. I also like the idea of the USA going independent of oil, the world would be rocked overnight. I have NO idea what would happen to the world's prices, it'd be pretty crazy.

I think the problem stems even further than hitting big oil and market share directly, I think it goes back to our own corrupt government and political system (despite how corrupt the OPEC and the rest of the world is). There are so many loopholes here where money can slip through, and they make the laws, it's a win/win for them. The problem is the bi-partisan system which has created an "us vs. them" battlefield and some of the crazies on each side will not budge and do anything to ruin the other. They've stopped caring about what's best for this country and only care for their party, affiliation, and money.

I really don't know what to do.

it did NOT always used to be that way decades ago, not even 3-4 years ago... Something has changed

What's changed is that business people in America today are immoral traitors who don't give a damn about our country, that's what's changed.