Reuters
An Iranian soldier participates in the Velayat-90 war game in an unspecified location near the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran on December 30.
By Martha C. White
The standoff between Iran and the West in the Strait of Hormuz has more to do with your daily commute than you might realize. If investors are spooked by the angry rhetoric coming out of the Persian Gulf, it could drive up the price of a barrel of oil, which means pain at the pump for American drivers.
On Tuesday alone, the price of Brent oil climbed 4 percent. (Brent is the type of oil we tend to import, which makes this the price to watch.) Michael Rubin, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, said the "psychological cost" of worry about what Iran will do next could add $10 to $20 per barrel. This tacks on roughly 25 to 50 cents to the price of a gallon of gas. If an actual supply disruption were to take place, the impact could be much worse.
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"Consumers who have to keep buying gasoline, once it gets much more expensive, they really do need to cut back on things," said Matthew Lewis, an economics professor at Ohio State University. Lewis offered a back-of-the-envelope calculation that translates a $3 per-barrel increase in the price of oil to between 7 and 8 cents more per gallon of gas. "When prices really go up above where they have been recently, consumers are forced to shift around their spending in new ways," he said. An ongoing or sudden additional increase could be bad news not just for people's wallets, but for the fragile economic recovery.
Even before the situation in Iran took center stage in the global energy drama, analysts at Goldman Sachs predicted an increase in the price of oil for the year, with an increase in global demand driving prices up in spite of the shaky Eurozone economy and a prediction of smaller domestic GDP growth in the United States. "We are maintaining our 2012 average Brent crude oil price forecast of $120 [per barrel] and introducing a 2013 forecast of $130," analysts said in a November 30 report.
"Certainly we're seeing some positive momentum in the economy, and prices for oil have been helped by the overall idea that the economy is improving," said Thomas Bentz, director at BNP Paribas Prime Brokerage Inc. Although some people have fingered speculators, rather than demand growth, as the reason for rising oil prices, a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis attributed about 15 percent of the rise in oil prices between 2004 and 2008 to the activities of speculators. Growing energy consumption at home and voracious demand from emerging economies like China and India create a lot more competition for the world's oil supply.
Higher prices that result from a recovering economy don't have the same negative effect as a sudden spike due to a supply disruption. "We've seen a little upside pressure on commodity prices this morning," said Blanch.
Oil is as low as it is going to go, says Joe Petrowski, Gulf Oil CEO, who shares his forecast on whether there will be a major fluctuation in the price of oil due to the decisions in the Middle East.
"For prices to get a lot higher from current levels, we'd need a physical supply disruption," he added. Blanch and others said it's unlikely that Iran would cut off its own oil exports, or succeed in blocking the Strait of Hormuz.
Rubin said Iran's bark is worse than its bite when it comes to the rogue state's threat to block shipping traffic in the Strait. "Iran could close the Strait, but it could only do it for about a day," he said.
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Iran currently produces around 2.5 million barrels a day, or roughly twice as much as Libya produced before its uprising last year. Taking that out of the global supply would hurt many economies, but it would hurt Iran more. "Iran needs foreign revenues from oil. that's how they fund their government and the army, that's how they fund their imports of foreign goods," said Blanch. "They would be a big loser as well of any supply disruption."
If Iran's oil trade was suspended, Blanch said the per-barrel price for Brent oil could jump to $150, which would be bad news. "I think there's little doubt that a substantial increase in oil prices would drive many economies into recession," he said. The more fragile Eurozone economies — Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal — would feel the worst of the effects, along with emerging economies like Turkey and India. "Then, probably, you'd start to see the impact feeding through into the United States," Blanch said. In recent years, more of the oil we import has come from the Americas, including Canada and Colombia, which would help a little, but a price jump of this magnitude would certainly hurt.
Analysts downplay the possibility of this and of Iran's threat to shut the Strait of Hormuz. But if either event did take place, global economies would be rocked, and recession would be almost inevitable. "If the entire Strait was to shut down, that's 16 million barrels a day, basically one-third of all seaborne crude oil," Blanch said. "A complete shutdown of the Hormuz for an extended period could easily send prices to $200 a barrel."
A recent report by analysts at Barclays Capital also said a closure of the Strait was "the most apocalyptic, and probably most unlikely" outcome of the current standoff.
"If Hormuz was to be disrupted, we're talking the biggest disruption the oil market has ever seen," said Blanch.
"We've never seen anything like it, and that's why we think it's very unlikely," he said.
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Comment author avatarAlex-1801504
I guess I should start buying a Hybrid.
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1 vote
#84 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 3:44 PM EST
Comment author avatarBillofRights1789
Nukem until the rubble bounces.....or they glow in the dark!
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4 votes
#84.1 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:08 PM EST
Comment author avatarDave-828173
Would someone please explain why, since oil and oil products is now our biggest export, we don't stop exporting it and use it domestically, and at the same time stop sending "foreign aid" (read as buying friendship) to the countries that hate us (Pakistan comes to mind) and use said money to fix our domestic problems? Am I dense, or is this too simplistic? This is a serious question, BTW, not a joke. I'm an average guy with an average education. Why does this idea seem so easy for me to understand, and difficult for a politician to understand?
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29 votes
#84.2 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:29 PM EST
Comment author avatarBrett-1508153
GOD FORBID they should do whats right for this country!! and no your dead on!!
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10 votes
#84.3 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:40 PM EST
Comment author avatarBrett-1508153
And I think that spending BILLION in the XL pipeline is the wrong direction!!! we need to start with greener energy so we dont have to deal with these nut jobs in the Middle East!!
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7 votes
#84.4 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:41 PM EST
Comment author avatarAcoustictherapy
Dave - I don't think you're being dense at all, but perhaps a bit simplistic. The fact is, our government has been in bed for so long with so many of our so-called "adversaries" that they probably don't even have a handle themselves on exactly what the convoluted state of our foreign relationships shakes out to be. Cutting off funding to Pakistan, as one example, would affect our bases and our access to air space over most of that region, along with further distancing us from what used to be a steadfast, albeit ambivalent ally in our "war on terror."
Everything over there is love-hate. In the best of all possible worlds, I'd totally agree with you - actually, I do agree with you, but recognize that the world we live in is nothing like best of all possible.
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2 votes
#84.5 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:44 PM EST
Comment author avatarRaging Capitalist
OMG,
Could this result in a forward thinking "Energy Policy"? If anyone recalls the 1973 embargo they might also recall mention of need for a energy policy. Will it happen 39 years later----NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The current energy policy, an Ostrich running about in search of a Sandbox works as expected.
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5 votes
#84.6 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:52 PM EST
Comment author avatarHeartsQuest
I have been posting here for months BOYCOTT OPEC! They are allowed to set the prices. We allowed them to do that. There is absolutely no excuse for us to be buying even a micro-milligram of Middle East oil when we have more than enough of our own.
If Iran wants to block us from buying from them, GOOD ON US!
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2 votes
#84.7 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 5:05 PM EST
Comment author avatarAG99
Dave, many of our oil wells aren't great producers. We need high oil prices to justify the expense of operating them (at least $80/barrel). It's because oil is so expensive now that we're producing so much. Limiting oil sales to the domestic market would make those wells unprofitable and they would shut down, which of course would lead to higher prices. The alternative would be nationalizing the wells.
#84.8 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 5:09 PM EST
Comment author avatarzanilth
This just goes to show that Wall Street is the biggest influence behind the fluctation of gas prices... Without any disruption or change in flow, the prices will climb because of idle threats...
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4 votes
#84.9 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 5:18 PM EST
Comment author avatarServoinvicem
Yes lets ignore the fact that the average cost to produce is less than 20$ per bbl and the cost is already inflated. Because lord knows if actual prices rise the options are to hurt their customers or hurt their profits and the oil companies aren't going to accept even 0.01$ less in profits. They would rather see the country fall deeper into recession than reduce profits. Such is the nature of corporations.
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3 votes
#84.10 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 5:23 PM EST
Comment author avatargene047
Dave--you are a OK. If they stopped exporting oil from the US then the price would go down along with gas prices and their profits (god forbid). These greedy a$$holes back east couldn't give a hoot in hell about anything but the bottom line. Should "Madoff" the whole stinking bunch of them.
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2 votes
#84.11 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 5:25 PM EST
Comment author avatarwives fan
Here we go again. Goldman "predicts" higher prices so of course that spooks others to bid higher so Goldman will make even more money because they probably bought futures ahead of their "prediction". Don't you just love the "free market"???
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3 votes
#84.12 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 5:32 PM EST
Comment author avatarChris-749391
This entire article is complete nonsense and never topuches upon reality. And @AG99 --- you're full of beans.
In reality, The United States, Canada and Mexico product 120-130% (and rising) of the oil we consume. Yep, you read it right! The three countries produce much more oil than they consume. In fact, oil is one of the largest and most profitable exports that this country produces --- with most of it going to Japan.
We do not need a single drop of oil from outside North America. There is one tiny exception: Venezuela. The Venezuelan government (spelled Chavez) owns Citgo and Citgo imports 100% of its oil at international market prices from Venezuela. That's how Chavez stays in power despite inept governments. All we have to do to stop those imports is declare sanctions against Venezuela and put Citgo into a trust, just as we did with BASF during WWII. That would end those imports (around 5% of our consumption.)
Outside of that, the U.S. oil industry plays the same shell gale that Enron played with the State of California. Enron would "buy" electricity from California at rates that would cause a shortage if actualized. (No shortage would ever be caused because the shortage would only be on paper.) They Enron would sell the same electricity back to California at much higher rates and pocket the differenbce for electricity that they never even possessed --- a classic shell game until it collapsed.
Oil companies do the same thing. It costs around $17-$18 to product a barrel of American crude --- which is the sweetest and lightest oil in the world. Each barrel of American crude is equivalent to about 1.2 to 1.4 barrels of Saudi oil, for example or about 1.4 barrels of Nigerian oil. Mexican oil costs about $22 a barrel to product. Canadian oil costs about $56-60 a barrel --- with costs headed down --- because it comes from tar mixed with sand and is expensive to extract.
The average barrel of North American crude costs less than $30 a barrel. But here is where the shell game starts. A shortage is created by selling oil and refinery products to countries like Japan at OPEC prices. The oil has nothing to do with OPEC, but the Amnerican public isn't supposed to know that. Then an average of 1.3 barrels of foreign oil are imported to replace each barrel of American crude. This is the beginning of the deception because this starts to confuse the costs of crude because it is "mingled" (on paper only) with the foreign crude for accounting purposes, raising the cost of a barrel to over $80. And by other tricks, such as selling to the National Strategic Reserve and holding refinery products off the market during peak periods and juggling storage capacity so little can be stored, they get the cost to appear to be over $90 a barrel.
And all this drives up the cost of gasoline at the pump. And do the oil companies care? Hell, yes. As the cost of a gallon of gasoline goes up, their profits, a percentage of the price, go up as well. It is one of the few products that is virtually immune to the laws of supply and demand (which are less laws than wishful thinking.) Gasoline is like heroin --- it makes little difference what the dealer charges, you have to have your "fix" or you can't get to work.
And what could be done about it? Well, we could foirmn a North American Oil Cartel and together with Canada and Mexico could limit the profits from oil products to an absutdly high 25% (versus the current 600%.) We could forbid exports of oil except those that do not cause "replacement" oil to be imported. (We would still be one of the largest oil-exporting countries in the world.) And we could essentially separate ourselves from world oil prices and bring the price of gasoline down under $1 a gallon. At this price, the US, Mexico and Canada would rule through sheer compteitiveness.
Why don't we? Because the oil companies, among others have bouyght and paid for our government. They lie to the public and the government supports instead of exposing the lies. Remember when BP snapped its fingers and a Texas Senator apologized to them "on behalf of the entire government"?
And then there's anopther issue --- natural gas. The issue of potential ecological damage from fracking aside, the United States possesses, by far, the greatest natural gas reserves in the world --- approximatewly equal to all that in the rest of the world combined and then some. And natural gas is just very light oil. And a BTU is a BTU. We could easily convert much of our crude oil requirement to natural gas for running vehicles, heating, industrial uses, and even make gasoline from natural gas if necessary. It's not being done, but the technology is readily available right now --- today!
We could produce almost as much oil as we import from Venezuela for less than $80 a barrel by just recycling old tires into oil. The South Africans did it for 20 years during the Apartheid embargo and are still doing it because it solves two problems at once.
It's about timne that Americans started doing their homework instead of just parroting the corporate propaganda. If you believe their crap, maybe you should consider donating money to them just to keep them afloat. LOL
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5 votes
#84.13 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 5:38 PM EST
Comment author avatarsoftdude
Saddam may be dead but he shouldn't be forgotten. The culture in the mid-east is a volatile mixture of bluster and bravado. Saddam had nothing to hide and still didn't back down, ultimately losing his life. If you plug that into the current bluster of Iran, you get a disaster.
#84.14 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 5:41 PM EST
Comment author avatarServoinvicem
Lets be honest here. FUEL is what america is exporting. We control a large chunk of refineries.. NOT Crude oil.. which is required to produce those fuels. Please people quit falling for lazy semantics. Without Crude there would be no fuel to export.
I see many mistakenly saying we produce more crude oil than we consume.. thats simply not true.
Big oil Buys oil on the cheap from foreign entities.. ships it here. Turns it into gasoline and other fuels then exports it. We DO NOT produce the majority of the actual raw product.
Please take the time to understand the difference between fuel and oil...
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2 votes
#84.15 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 6:00 PM EST
Comment author avatarChris-749391
@Servionvicem,
The US does NOT produce more than it consumes, but North America DOES. And no one is confusing fuel and oil. But most data that people can get to and verify for themselves is in terms of barrels of crude, not gallons of the dozens of various refinery products from asphalt to benzene. Trying to divert attention to "fuel" is simply trying to muddy the waters with confusing terms, a lyric argument over 5,000 years old at youngest. LOL
#84.16 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 6:12 PM EST
Comment author avatarRaging Capitalist
Hearts Quest,
You're kidding? Do you have a clue about how the Oil Market works? Let me give you a clue, "World".
There is a big pool called the market. We buy from that pool and we take our oil from one end of the pool. As we take oil, the level goes down until it is refilled. Get the picture? Do you recall all of the people that did not want to buy Venezuelan oil and wanted to boycott Citgo?
We need a Energy Policy to exploit out resources, Oil, Wind, Solar, Natural Gas, Nuclear, whatever but we need a policy from which to operate from and provoke responsible decisions.
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1 vote
#84.17 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 6:17 PM EST
Comment author avatarServoinvicem
@chris
You need only to scan other posts in this thread to see what I was referring to... People stating
"Makes one wonder what our government is doing when I just read last week that our (USA) number 1 export is gasoline and oil products. We, the citizens take in the rear end, while the oil conglomerates export their products to make more money and keep the prices here artificially high. We, the voters, need to solidify and take back our Government from the politicians who interpret "the people" as meaning themselves and not the American public."
etc etc.
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2 votes
#84.18 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 6:18 PM EST
Comment author avatarServoinvicem
Or
Also, 2011 was the first time the U.S. exported more oil than it imported since
1949.The reason is rooted in good old free-market economics. With the price of
oil so high and with American demand dropping — it has been trending downward
since 2007 — companies are finding more profits in Asia and Latin America, where
consumption is mushrooming.
Now I certainly won't claim that the price of oil isn't artificially inflated by the oil companies.. see my OP. However claiming that we produce it and international issues have no effect is just silly.
#84.19 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 6:23 PM EST
Comment author avataralwaysanother
The stage is set. The tickets are sold but the play hasn't been finished. The director is dithering.
The article is incomplete and doesn't have an ending.
Rationally the U.S. has to write the ending that will wipe out Iran's nuclear possibilities and potential to shut the straits of Hormuz. This will require massing bombing and the need to keep China and Russia out, which will probably happen any way but they have to have their political feels assuaged which the U.S. will do by not bombing the oil productions and shipping capabilities of Iran. Russia has to refuse publicly to aid the disarming of Iran and the U.S. has to ask publicly that Russia will help.
The U.S., Israel, England, Canada, France, Germany other European countries and Arab countries have to agree to take Iran apart. Then like the Kuwaiti problem, the dominoes have to be lined up and a U.S. fleet has to test the threat, when Iran reacts, then the hammer falls.
#84.20 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 7:41 PM EST
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Comment author avatarUDunnoBro
Of course it will drive up oil prices. The oil industry and their cronies will use ANY excuse to raise prices.
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14 votes
Reply#85 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 3:46 PM EST
Comment author avatarRustyboy-FL
More fear mongering from the money interests.
Fuel was the US largest export last year. Yet they still play the fear game.
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5 votes
#85.1 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:07 PM EST
Comment author avatarJS in SD
There is zero chance that the Iranians could successfully shut down the Straight of Hormuz. There is absolutely no way that the US other western powers would allow this to occur. If the Iranians were to try they would need glass bottom boats to be able to see what was left of their navy as it rested on the bottom of the ocean.
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4 votes
#85.2 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:24 PM EST
Comment author avatarItsAboutTime-3704531
Well Said UDunnoBro - The speculators combined with the Media will 'cause' some fabricated type of panic that drives up the cost of a barrel of oil. It's pathetic that we are 'hostage' to this type of behavior.
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4 votes
#85.3 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:44 PM EST
Comment author avatarKurt's comments
a Hybrid, if "everyone" got a Hybrid, where the heck you gonna get all that Lithum? Less places on Earth to get Lithum than oil.
#85.4 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:48 PM EST
Comment author avatarChris-749391
The Iranians COULD shut down the Straits of Hormuz. They have the means to do it --- the most likely way being to scuttle a number of ships acvoss the narrowest part. This is exactly what the Turks would have done in event of war with the old USSR. They would have scuttled ships to block the Bosphorus and Dardenelles. But the Iranians give is two clues that they are just blustering for domestic consumption:
1) In 1984 during the PGW phase called the "Tanker War" the Iranians tried to selectively block the Straits, blocking only ships going to and from Iraq. There is simply too much traffic to do this effectively and Iran quickly saw that it was not possible and gave up. The choice the Iranians should be familiar with would be to leave it open or block it permanently. They have already tries selective blockade and know they cvan't do it. Yet this is what they are threatening to do. Probably bluster.
2) Actually blocking the Straits would so quickly effect the world economy that the whole community of nations, including the Arab Muslim countries, would coalesce against the Iranians in a matter of a few weeks. This simply cannot be what they have in mind. Probably bluster.
When I was an old intelligence weenie, they always said, "You are the enemy's representative on the commander's staff." Sometimes you have to look past the bluster and see what is really possible, what history tells us, and then select from a smaller list of alternatives.
#85.5 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 6:06 PM EST
Reply
Comment author avatarVincent Wolf
BS no one takes Iran seriously. What a crock the oil companies again are trying to pull.
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1 vote
Reply#86 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 3:52 PM EST
Comment author avatarObama Lies
Drilling here would make us less vulnerable to surges in prices in the middle east.
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1 vote
Reply#87 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 3:52 PM EST
Comment author avatarJahmekan
Of course it will.
smh
I wonder why our energy exports were up this year and breaking records. If we had so much to export, why are the price at the pump and energy not coming down? Oh, let me see...they can get more money selling it overseas.
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2 votes
#87.1 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:14 PM EST
Comment author avatarItsAboutTime-3704531
Drilling is not the only answer. We have the technology to develop reusable energy resources in this country. It's about time we started investing in them and cut out BIG OIL's grip and their cronies on this nations.
American's also have to accept that our very lifestyle comes with a price. The price is based on a barrel of oil.
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1 vote
#87.2 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:47 PM EST
Comment author avatarTarvalon
They do drill here. They drill in almost every state. Ignore the propaganda driven by the oil companies, Wall Street speculators and the media. There is no shortage of oil, gas or NG in this country. Stop joining the SHEEPLE society.
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3 votes
#87.3 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:57 PM EST
Reply
Comment author avatarJAY-1278133
Makes one wonder what our government is doing when I just read last week that our (USA) number 1 export is gasoline and oil products. We, the citizens take in the rear end, while the oil conglomerates export their products to make more money and keep the prices here artificially high. We, the voters, need to solidify and take back our Government from the politicians who interpret "the people" as meaning themselves and not the American public.
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5 votes
Reply#88 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 3:56 PM EST
Comment author avatarStyro
I've said it a dozen times: Oil is a global commodity. The whole "drill baby, drill!" crowd doesn't get this. When oil prices rise in the U.S., it's not because of our politicians, at least not to a significant degree. Generally, when oil prices go up here, they're going up everywhere. Drilling here won't affect the price of gas any more than drilling in Antarctica. It just makes transport cheaper for the oil companies.
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3 votes
#88.1 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:21 PM EST
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Comment author avatarBig Trouble
Not everyone should be entitled to drive a motor vehicle. I support higher prices of gasoline.
Reply#89 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:01 PM EST
Comment author avatarjeff moralez
Big Trouble, I agree and I too wish gasoline was about 15-18 dollars a gallon. But then those greedy evil oil companies would make even more profits.
#89.1 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:06 PM EST
Comment author avatarThe Breeze
If oil becomes that expensive our economy will collapse, unemployment will rise and Obama will be history.
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1 vote
#89.2 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:59 PM EST
Reply
Comment author avatarmiddleclassbanker
agree, domestic oil production is the key, if we produce oil here then prices may go down and consumers will have more to spend to help expand our economy. right now the consumer does not have any extra to spend as it is all taken up by food and fuel. get with the program people in D. C.
Reply#90 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:02 PM EST
Comment author avatarATFMAN
"domestic oil production is the key,"
Never happen...big business oil companies will pay whatever the thieves in D.C. want to keep the oil flowing from the M E and not here so they can charge what they want...drilling here would make too much sense...face it...our money is the "oil" that runs Washington ...the people are here only to serve the masters in Washington ...until this population is willing to throw off the chains of a corrupt government, it will only get worse.
#90.1 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:17 PM EST
Comment author avatarServoinvicem
Domestic oil production just leads to more profits.. not lower gas prices. The cost to produce a loaf of bread,a gallon of milk or a gallon of gas has gone DOWN over the last 20 years. When is the last time you have seen the price consumers pay for finished products go down? You haven't simply because its better for shareholders if they pocket the difference as profit.
#90.2 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 6:38 PM EST
Reply
Comment author avatarkevinoffsite
The Shell CEO said the Refiners will shut down on the East Coast because they want to keep gas at 3 dollars or higher.
Drilling will make no difference, there is plenty of oil. Producers want 80 to 120 a barrel oil and they are not going to produce excess supply so you can have 1 dollar gas, its just not the way the market works.
He also stated Oil prices are a currency trade and not a fundamental trade... Meaning with zero interest rates big money is flocking to oil markets to push up the price because its a commodity with have to buy no matter what the price.
I agree with drilling domestically for other reasons but to say it will drive prices down is a GOP talking point and not reality. Oil drillers are in this to maximize returns, not to supply you with cheap gas.
If we want the Oil Markets to flow with demand then set position limits, otherwise its a Casino for high net worth investors..
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6 votes
Reply#91 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:02 PM EST
Comment author avatardjj-951919
Here we go again with scare tactics. Intelligent people have known for a while now that we are fools to be dependent on Middle East oil. There are different kinds and quality of oils. Also, drilling everywhere in the US is not a realistic answer and the effects on our environment is also important to. The prices we pay are also based on oil traders on the exchanges who trade for their own profits. So there are many factors to consider here and it is wrong to assume that what is going on in the Middle East will definitely affect our lives in a specific way. This is a typical right slanting mainstream media article.
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3 votes
Reply#92 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:02 PM EST
Comment author avatarsaucer-3882098
Has anyone ever seen an anouncement by the media of an occurance that was likely to reduce gas prices?
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2 votes
Reply#93 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:04 PM EST
Comment author avatarjeff moralez
Yeah Saucer, in 08 when the banks collapsed. From 140 to 40.
#93.1 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:08 PM EST
Comment author avatarkevinoffsite
Don't forget who owns the Networks, liberal or conservative slanted, doesn't mater. they are owned by Large Corporate Wealth and a lot of these guys have positions in the Oil Markets because its the best bet to make a lot of money fast. This money is unfortunately a direct Tax on consumers who need this gas to function. Kind of dumb to be in this position and not support alternative resources..
#93.2 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:11 PM EST
Comment author avatarServoinvicem
@ jeff
But how much did Gasoline prices actually drop?
Nuff said.
#93.3 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 6:46 PM EST
Reply
Comment author avatarOkeeboy
Could drive up prices?
Oh please!
A Saudi minister can fart and prices rise immediately!
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4 votes
Reply#94 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:09 PM EST
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Comment author avatarStyro
Breaking News: It might snow in February. It's about as obvious as the oil story. Might as well report on it.
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2 votes
Reply#95 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:15 PM EST
Comment author avatarCJ-1474104
Any freaking excuse...
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3 votes
Reply#96 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:15 PM EST
Comment author avatarEDWARD MOORE
Last week it was reported that all Crude oil we get form the east is Refined
here in the use and sold to other Countries so was not to use our own.
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1 vote
Reply#97 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:17 PM EST
Comment author avatarT Overseas
when is the Pres. going to make good and break our dependence on "dirty oil"? (the stuff that comes from countries with horrendous civil rights records..) the oil producers are going to have a field day! i say, REGULATE! skyrocketing prices around the holidays every year,(every summer, every holiday, every winter..) as if they couldn't anticipate the demand; p-lease! Aren't we tired of getting taken advantage of? UAE (and their M.E. buddies) needs to deal with Iran, not us!
Reply#98 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:17 PM EST
Comment author avatarMFranklin
Not worried about gas prices. They've been unstable at best... and ludicrously gouging at worst, for the last 15 years. The cost goes up 50 cents and then falls 10... so the media praises the falling prices.
Must be nice to have the press in one's pocket.
Nope, where the rubber meets the road is when Iran starts taking potshots at shipping or any of the western navies sailing the Persian Gulf... the US being the most likely target. All hell breaks lose then and all bets are off. The Iranians have been well armed by our friends, the Russians and to a slightly lesser degree, our friends the Chinese.
If Americans die, you can thank first the madman from Tehran but also, Moscow and Beijing.
In the long run, the US and EU forces can clean their clock but it will be both a bloody and oily affair.
And yes, gas will rise to at least $5 a gallon again... like that would be any surprise.
*
1 vote
Reply#99 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:19 PM EST
Comment author avatarm-612920
The media is what drives up oil prices by getting everybody jittery over things that probably won't even happen.
Reply#100 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:22 PM EST
Comment author avatarbusboy-303352
Also, 2011 was the first time the U.S. exported more oil than it imported since
1949.The reason is rooted in good old free-market economics. With the price of
oil so high and with American demand dropping — it has been trending downward
since 2007 — companies are finding more profits in Asia and Latin America, where
consumption is mushrooming.
So it has been awhile since the "let's get a gas hike going. $3-4 is too cheap". So get some of that good old nonsense started . "Fire here, pipe busted there, spill in Hooterville Hollow, etc. Cheney had their backs along with those in office when the other phony baloney was going on, will Obama let them run this scam again if they try it??
or will he do as Clinton did, and open the reserves?
This is an election year and Obama will be tested every way he can be.
*
1 vote
Reply#101 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:25 PM EST
Comment author avatarjeff moralez
We began exporting more refined oil. Not crude oil. We produce between 5-6 million barrels a day and consume 3- times that..
#101.1 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 5:58 PM EST
Reply
Comment author avatarMFranklin
Anybody skeered?
I remember when Gulf War 1 began and my wife wept as her brother was a part of the 24th ID (3rd ID now) in the middle of the fray. It was the first real fighting we had seen since the Nam.
But now?
Not skeered. Not worried. I just hope for the best but expect the worst until we get our country and constitution back.
Reply#102 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:29 PM EST
Comment author avatarChris-3558678
Speculation at its best/worst.
*
1 vote
Reply#103 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:30 PM EST
Comment author avatarAnnoyedbyidiots
"Iran could close the Strait, but it could only do it for about a day"
Not so sure I agree with this analysis as Iran may try to mine the Strait of Hormuz.
See:
""
Reply#104 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:31 PM EST
Comment author avatarryan-1853964
Lol really higher gas prices did not see that one coming must be a legit reason like the thousands before. Why even print this @!$%# just tell the truth they want to make more profit and are greedy I would respect them if they would just tell the truth no one would care anyway.
*
2 votes
Reply#105 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:37 PM EST
Comment author avatarFredLI
Kevinoffsite..right with you...These damn third party interests groups are killing us!!!!
Reply#106 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:39 PM EST
Comment author avatarmeh1956
Is there anything that doesn't make the price of oil go up?
*
2 votes
Reply#107 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:39 PM EST
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Comment author avatarThermen Merman
The price of oil is driven by Commodities speculators, not supply and demand. This is a perfect example. It is time to REGULATE this crap way of trading oil. Some Arab farts and gas goes up 25 cents a gallon overnight. This is bullsh!t.
*
3 votes
Reply#108 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 4:39 PM EST
Comment author avatarnotsojingo
Was gonna write an enlongated perspective, but this said it all...
This is bullsh!t
*
1 vote
#108.1 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 5:24 PM EST
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