We the consumers are being screwed here. Used to be, supply and demand set the price. Now, big speculators such as hedge funds with megabucks can corner and stampede or starve the market. Same story with food and other commodities, and people are getting hurt. Look at Haiti and Cairo food riots.
This sets the stage for price spikes and collapses. If the smartass speculators start to fear staying too late at the party, they'll dump futures and the price will plummet. Some economists think that ~60% of current prices are the result of such speculation, rather than supply/demand per se.
A price collapse is not too good, either, since it would kill the incentive and progress on developing alternate technologies, which we need.
According to most articles I've read, oil is looking like it is entering another price rally. If you don't fill your tank often, doing so in the next week might save a buck or two.
What $/bbl do you guys think will correspond with a nationwide gasoline price of $4/gal? Right now gas is ~$3.60/gal @ $124/bbl.
well it could be because i am adjusted to $4.0x fuel, but i believe that oil companies/ refiners are keeping the price at the pump down and that $124 oil should equal $4.00 gasoline. that said, i don't know how much longer they are willing to hold the price down, or if they will push it farther down for upcoming election, or what. i still say that gasoline is to cheap, and will continue as such as long as the vast majority of large (tahoe or bigger) suv's have a single person in them.
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