Not that speculation in oil futures has anything to do with the prices, of course.
First there’s this:
Most Americans have no idea how important oil prices are to the overall health of the U.S. economy. Whenever oil prices have pressed toward record levels in recent decades, it has always resulted in an economic downturn. A high oil price does not just mean that consumers will have to pay a little more at the pump. The truth is that oil is the very lifeblood of our economic system. We have built our entire country around the concept that we can transport lots of stuff very long distances for a very, very cheap price. When that paradigm beings to change, it fundamentally alters the dynamics of the U.S. economy. A high oil price will mean an even faster economic decline for America.
Here’s one take on things:
The International Energy Agency (IEA), which represents industrial consumers, said prices “already pose a real economic risk” and said Saudi Arabia has stealthily boosted its output. However, OPEC said “any assumption that there is tightness in the market… is incorrect”. The cartel of oil-producing countries blamed the weak dollar and speculation for taking the price per barrel near $100.
[...]
He criticised the IEA for lacking “consistency”, suggesting it was willing to add to oil prices by telling members to raise related taxes, but would then pressure OPEC to curb prices to safeguard growth. However, analysts say that the cartel is reluctant to openly agree output rises in case prices drop sharply.
And then there’s this:
Oil prices dropped ahead of important data on U.S. oil supplies, due 11 a.m. EST Thursday. U.S. oil inventories are expected to fall by 900,000 barrels in the weekly report from the Department of Energy. But the expected decline is partly due to the shutdown of the Trans Alaska Pipeline, which restarted Monday. Fuel inventories are seen continuing their recent steep increase, with gasoline stockpiles expected to grow 2.3 million barrels and distillates, including heating oil and diesel, seen adding 500,000 barrels.
[...]
Supply issues have been paramount in recent days after the shutdown of the Alaska pipeline last week pushed crude futures back above $90 a barrel. With the key 800-mile oil route back in service, investors are closely watching the recent rise in stockpiles of fuel products, both in the U.S. and Europe, as continued builds could stifle any push toward triple-digit oil.
#18 The thread is whether high energy cost will tank the economy…captalism as we have remnants of it in America.
Competition is harsh to competitors, wonderful for consumers as it delivers the product at lower cost.
What you call greed I call enlightened self interest…what gave us every technological and medical advance…people trying to do better for their families, by producing products society needs and so is willing to pay for.
Obama, in his book Dreams of my Father, reveals he is likely ant colonial Marxist like his dad, whom he idolized. Barack Obama Sr, Rev Wrights, William Ayers, the marxists Obama hung with in college, want to bring our system down, and replace it with “a better world.” The Saul Alinsky road map for doing it, has been followed since Obama was elected, via his shadow government, and his collaborators in Congress.
The progressives in congress were given what they clamored for, the power to spend other peoples money so they could feel superior, and the loop holes to keep themselves and their money out of the equation. They spent us into bankruptcy…without a radical Reagan program of slashing government, spending…we are finished as a world power.
That’s what progressive want, they think it will be paradise when we are weak, and stay at home militarily…and leave everyone alone. But we won’t be left alone, the progressives will tyrannize us as their programs won’t work…just as Mao and Stalin did when their progressive programs failed. It remains to be seen if having 30% of the public hypnotized by Progressive propaganda is enough to have the rest of the country submit to soft tyranny and poverty.
#20 Many agree with you:
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Soaring Oil Prices — The Root Cause of Our Recession
March 29th, 2010
The current real estate meltdown has destroyed or radically altered a number of the most well-known names on Wall Street, including Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, along with a host of others. The global recession that ensued has not only devastated our economy but was about 50% more severe in Germany and twice as severe in Japan. During this time, the value of the dollar soared as a safe haven for worldwide investment even though the crisis supposedly started with subprime mortgages in the U.S. How could this be?
There are a growing number of economists, led by Jeff Rubin, former chief economist for CIBC World Markets, who believe the housing crisis was a symptom, not the cause, of the recession. They believe high energy prices — particularly those associated with oil — led to the recession. Now before you throw slippers at your computer screens, here’s the argument:
1. Our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is directly dependent on energy, because we need energy to produce nearly all goods and services. Not only is oil the primary fuel used in transport, it is the key ingredient in asphalt, detergents, fertilizers, plastics, many pharmaceuticals, synthetic fibers and synthetic rubber. With oil’s impact in so many industries, why would we not expect triple-digit oil prices in 2008 to have an impact on the overall economy?
2. Relatively large spikes in oil prices have preceded four of the last five global recessions. The size and severity of the recessions are correlated to the height of the spike. Oil prices have increased by a factor of 5 from 2002 to 2008. This is double the size of the oil shock caused during either OPEC oil shock.
Think about it this way: When the economy went into recession, companies laid off people or eliminated positions. In late 2007 and early 2009, many Americans, with or without subprime mortgages, lived from paycheck to paycheck. This is clearly evident by our savings rate of only a little over 1% during this time. When oil prices increased, many people were faced with transportation costs that nearly doubled, and they had to choose between transportation to work or paying some bills — including the mortgage. Transportation won, and those less able to make the mortgage payments defaulted.
http://engineering.osu.edu/impact/?p=40
#6
So, I guess you are ok with a $40 loaf of bread or $1000/mo for electricity? You do realize that if the price of fuel goes up, pretty much everything goes up by an even greater percentage. So much for liberals caring about the poor.
#15
And I suppose you have an alternate all ready to go that is:
A. Easy to transport
B. Contains as much energy as gasoline
C. Is as cheap to produce
Thought so. For all the bluster about “alternative fuels” we haven’t seen one yet that is a true alternative.
I keep seeing “Saul Alinsky” but hiding behind it I smell “The Elders of Zion.” Man, that dude has a serious Alinsky fixation and a conspiracy mania.
Even if there are huge Right- and Left-wing conspiracies, they’re like gnat swarms in a hurricane.
The fact is that about half of all the petroleum in the world has gone up in smoke, almost all the “low-hanging fruit” has been picked, and the whole world will be poorer as a result. You can hang all the speculators and/or put all the facists/socialists/Rothschilds/Nigerian presidents/whatever your favorite conspirators are up against the wall and shoot them, but it won’t make a whit of difference.
The easy half of the oil is gone, and they’re not making any more of it. Grow up and face facts.
We need a cleaner energy source and I do agree with that sentiment. However, without abundant oil, civilization itself in the US will grind to a halt. That being said… There is enough oil sitting underneath Alaska to last us 500+ years, but someone won’t drill there (Obama for starters). Maybe minds will change when things get bad enough.
Many of the criminal economic hitmen and corporations (like Haliburton and Blackwater for example) are all moving to either Saudi or China. Many of the mega rich are leaving the US like mice evacuating a sinking ship for the past few years. They are almost done raping this country and are moving on to greener pastures. They really like countries like Saudi and China that treats many of their slaves like…. Well… Slaves.. As a proper tyrannical country should.
I guess the US was not enough of a police state or theocracy for them and we are almost bankrupt to boot. The only way I see the US surviving in the next 50 years is to reset the Republic, have a resourceful intelligent public, trust the mega banks about as much as the den of cobras that they are, and rebuild our national infrastructure. Good luck to us.
“There is enough oil sitting underneath Alaska to last us 500+ DAYS, but someone won’t drill there (Obama for starters). Maybe minds will change when things get bad enough.”
Fixed it for you.
#24 If we accept Obama is not a dummy then:
Its so elementary cheap energy would stimulate the economy, help fund government, that Obama’s accomplishing the opposite is inexplicable;
Its so elementary regulation is killing business creation, that Obama’s not fixing that in a time of recession is inexplicable;
For example, what he did to oil drilling in the Gulf makes no sense at all…
Without doubt he must hear advisers explain his actions are harmful to the economy, yet he persists in them.
While you loons might persist in harmful policies because you have been hypnotized by progressive repetitious propaganda, the President of the United States is constantly being told the truth by his advisers..
So if we accept he is of normal intelligence, then the best explanation why he is actively harming the country via regulatory bureaucracy while publicly proclaiming he is doing the opposite, is that he wants to harm the economy and not be stopped from doing it.
Then a review of his history is appropriate…he taught Saul Alinsky in Community agitating courses…HE TAUGHT Saul Alinsky Tactics to ACORN an others…
You dismiss his past, his associations, and what he has said publicly…and his actions consistent with that leftist rhetoric…
You want to blame the Jews…
Its you who are the conspiracy nut…
I’m just putting two and two together.
If Obama wanted well for America, he would counter the rise in energy prices by energetically removing all obstacles, especially frivolous lawsuits, hindering and preventing production.
We are in danger of double dip recession, and the actions of his regulatory agencies is to make energy more expensive.
It doesn’t make sense, unless one wanted ill for America.
Then the reasons why one wants ill, might be deduced. I think he is an anti colonialist Marxist…but I’m not dogmatic on this, it really doesn’t matter why he is doing it, the fact he is doing it and must be stopped is well understood by many.
It explains the rise of the Tea Party…its not all about taxes…its about saving the country from its enemies.
I think this Summer when travel goes up. That will be the test to see if higher gasoline prices affect how we spend our money. i would have to say as gasoline goes up more and more of American’s begin to adjust their spending.
Alfred thinks wasting blood and treasure on ill advised invasions makes us strong.
How cute. Or it would be if it weren’t so destructive to the US.
#30–tcc3==don’t limit your scorn to Alflie==ALL PUKES are against reducing military spending when you ask for specifics beyond fraud and abuse.
We forgot that wasting money on the Military was a ruse to sucker the USSR into the folly of trying to keep up with us. After they went bankrupt, we forgot to stop the financial game of chicken that we had one the first lap on.
The guns of our military make us about as safe and secure as the guns in our houses.
Silly Hoomans.
TooManyPuppies in #6 said: “I don’t accept it in private transaction, and neither should you.”
That might work fine for hookers and blowjobs, but I don’t think it will work too good for buying blow or get you anything but attitude down at the grocery store.
All currency is fiat currency, by definition…
Being fungible all currency is based on societal agreement, the definition of a fiat.
Real-estate might be real but its value in fiat currency is dependent on its desirability.
Un-air conditioned 1,200 sq.ft. condo in Manhattan, ~$2mil.
Un-air conditioned 1,200 sq.ft. condo in Death Valley, FREE!!!
#29 As everything moves by truck, ship, airline, and as everything is made using energy, and as labor costs include the energy people need to live, I suspect your cost of living will be up in more areas than travel.
I also firmly believe, as your cost of living skyrockets, you will blame Bush.
#30 You have me confused with someone else, I want our troops home, we cannot afford to preposition troops or wage wars…we are broke.
#24 To sum up, Obama’s past, and present, actions and words, save a few disclaimers, prove his animus toward America as it is…he wants a different America, which unfortunately for us, will descend into poverty and tyranny, even though that is not what he is trying to accomplish.
Marxism doesn’t make a better world, only poverty and tyranny as Progressives realize their programs aren’t working, and they choose to blame the people for the failure…and start enslaving and killing them…to make the programs work.
If Mr. “I Have A Longer Screen Name Than You And ACORN Is The Anti-Christ And Saul Alinsky Is His Prophet” really hates job-killing regulation, why isn’t he agitating for the repeal of the Ten Commandments, Common Law, the Electrical Code, and those mileage-killing traffic lights and stop signs?
Reading the other comments here, I am continually struck by the total BS people will believe — like a drowning man clutching at straws, they eagerly adopt and advocate any hare-brained idea that absolves them of any responsibility to be energy-conscious. “I can drive my four-ton behemoth as though it were a sports car and heat my drafty home to 80 degrees in winter and cool it to 60 in summer because NObamalinsky is holding us back from Eternal Magical Energy Heaven that would result if we only removed all limitations on energy corporations!”
It’s no wonder the old “Magical Gas Pellet That Makes Fuel From Water” and Nigerian email scams still survive. Barnum was right, and it seems to be only getting worse.
Uncle Patsy…I see you are rejoicing…evidently the Governor of Hawaii might be able to find Obama’s birth certificate after all…might.
http://drudgereport.com/
#36 Uncle Patso
Nailed it.
I sure wish I only had to pay $3.08 for gas.
The amount of oil traded is seven times what is delivered. I can’t see how the prices can go up without shortages being more visible at the pump.
When oil goes up, the price of food goes up too.
There is A LOT of fraud relating to fuel surcharges.
A weak dollar certainly contributes to the high price since the dollar and the price of oil move in opposite directions.