Are the normies noticing rising gas prices yet? Gas is at a multi-year high price.

[Xist]

Are you getting a lift kit and mud tires for your Metro?

[MetroMPG]

Maybe Johnny would just sell me his EcoMudder Metro and save me the trouble!

[Stubby79]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Today's coverage in mainstream Canadian headlines:

Gas prices hit record 160.9 cents per litre in Vancouver

That's equivalent to U.S. ~$4.75 per gallon

You'd think they'd be higher here, on an island right next door, but we're still sitting at "just" $1.52.

[MetroMPG]

Send that surplus Metro over on a boat!

[oil pan 4]

Me now:

When gas prices go up.

[acparker]

I don't know if this has been suggested already, but, in my opinion, this recent increase in fuel prices is driven by politics -- an effort by nevertrumpers to scuttle gains from Trump's economic policies. I anticipate gas prices surging to around $7/gallon before the end of Summer, and staying there, or rising higher, until at least the elections in November.

A hurricane or two would do the trick for sure, and the National Hurricane Center is projecting a very active season. It worked with Katrina. We were told the spike in gas prices was to last only a couple of months, but they held and then increased, setting up for the disastrous '06 midterms and destroying Dubbya's final term.

No politician, thus far, has had the gumption (or sufficient incentive) to call the oil companies on their economy-destroying, oligopoly pricing. Perhaps they underestimate Trump? Perhaps I overestimate him? Time will tell.

[rmay635703]

Pierre Andurand Has stated that oil could go to $300 a barrel

He is one of the large price fixers in Ronald Reagan’s failed “oil market” concept

He is very much not a liberal and resembles a young trump in more ways than a Warren Buffet

If you want oil prices to be lower but more chaotic get rid of the oil market, it’s nothing but a leach sucking more money out of your pocket and is just an unnecessary venue for middle men to make money.

During 05-08 it was used as a mechanism to stockpile oil and limit supply which was directly tied to the bank failures as their stock piles lost value and $$$ generating power as consumption shrank.

[acparker]

Originally Posted by rmay635703

Pierre Andurand Has stated that oil could go to $300 a barrel

He also admits oil is inelastic (no news there) and that $100/barrel oil didn't break the EU economy over the past 3 years. Well, it may not have broken it, but it certainly stretched the debt bubble's skin very, very thin.

A global rise in oil prices could be a strategic win for China, in that they have locked in extremely low contract prices with corrupt third world oil producers (the downside is that they contracted with corrupt third-world governments who honor their promises about as frequently as do the Chinese, hence the need for a large blue-water navy and military installations throughout the world --- might makes right, or as Mao put it in his little red book, "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.").

Some ways Trump could significantly impact the US market, and to some extent the global market, would be to finish the Keystone pipeline, promote coal to liquid (in 2006, a proposed pilot refinery, supported by pre-presidential candidate Obama, would have been profitable with oil above $30/barrel), and facilitate the decentralization of refining capacity (major refiners use the EPA and other agencies to limit market entry) and move it away from hurricane impact zones.

$300/barrel is not inconceivable given the precarious political situations in and around major oil producing regions. Taking care of domestic needs first is sound energy and economic policy. We have the resources to be self-sufficient, but being self-sufficient for the long haul (generations) will require significantly improving efficiency(conservation) throughout the energy sector.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by acparker

I don't know if this has been suggested already, but, in my opinion, this recent increase in fuel prices is driven by politics... I anticipate gas prices surging to around $7/gallon before the end of Summer,

We were told the spike in gas prices was to last only a couple of months, but they held and then increased, setting up for the disastrous '06 midterms and destroying Dubbya's final term.

No politician, thus far, has had the gumption (or sufficient incentive) to call the oil companies on their economy-destroying, oligopoly pricing.

People are going to put money ahead of politics, so it's doubtful the market is being manipulated just to spite Trump. This is the normal game of running oil prices high and low in a cycle that has been going on since I've been around. Prices are raised to whatever the market will bear, then the US cranks up domestic production on those oil sources that weren't profitable at $2/gallon prices, but are profitable at $4/gallon prices, then the OPEC cartel increases production again to shut down US production... rinse and repeat.

W's final term was mostly tarnished by having found no Iraqi facilities making weapons of mass destruction. If you're going to assault a country, the reason given for the assault had better exist.

I'm pretty sure all politicians have been critical of OPEC. Calling the cartel out for what is obvious does no good in breaking up their collusion.

[acparker]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

People are going to put money ahead of politics, so it's doubtful the market is being manipulated just to spite Trump. This is the normal game of running oil prices high and low in a cycle that has been going on since I've been around. Prices are raised to whatever the market will bear, then the US cranks up domestic production on those oil sources that weren't profitable at $2/gallon prices, but are profitable at $4/gallon prices, then the OPEC cartel increases production again to shut down US production... rinse and repeat.

As I wrote in my previous post, oil Demand is (effectively) inelastic. This has been known for decades. The variable then becomes Supply, and the oil companies control that in various ways. Demand shifts do occur and those are driven by extreme Price shifts, as we are experiencing now. These Price shifts are very disruptive to economies and are, by and large, avoidable.

In this case, politics and money are following the same path. Raising prices neutralizes a threat and makes money, lots of money.

I'm pretty sure all politicians have been critical of OPEC. Calling the cartel out for what is obvious does no good in breaking up their collusion.

The problem is not with OPEC, it is with the oil companies. In 2004, Royal Dutch Shell caused a significant spike in oil prices simply by adjusting down their stated reserves. Shell went on to experience their greatest earnings in history and the greatest earnings of any European company in history.

Politicians, on both sides of the aisle, generally do not interfere with oil companies because they profit by them, either directly or indirectly. The dictum is, "don't bite the hand that feeds you." Saying things and doing things are not the same. Oil companies care nothing for rhetoric, only action. They let politicians complain, often quite loudly, but complaining rarely leads to action.

W's final term was mostly tarnished by having found no Iraqi facilities making weapons of mass destruction. If you're going to assault a country, the reason given for the assault had better exist.

They did find weapons and facilities, though the bulk of the weapons were moved to Syria (who is using them now) before the invasion. The information was simply ignored by the press. It didn't support the narrative. Fake news is not new.

I don't know what happened to Dubbya. He seemed to lose all enthusiasm. He stopped fighting, even knowing he was in the right. It was extremely frustrating watching his non-confrontational second-term.