So what's up with gas prices?

[Horse with no Name]

Gas has gone up .40 in 4 days here and I heard a rumor from someone here in town that talk is that it will be $5.00 a gallon by summer.
I hadn't heard anything like that...but I know it's going fast.

[NanceGreggs]

1. "Operation Swarmer"

It's all contained in an article right here:

http://news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200603...

It's headed: "GAS PRICES SOAR AS ASSAULT STARTS"

Once again, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

[Behind the Aegis]

2. In northern Oklahoma...

...yesterday the price jumped 8 cents in one hour! I was floored. It continues to go up. I am guessing because of Spring Break.

[Trajan]

4. The 'Spring Break' lie ....

We have heard them all ...

[Behind the Aegis]

6. Prices do seem to go up around "travel" hoildays...

...I am sure there are other factors. But, it is a sure way to get money.

[LizW]

18. Seasonal gouging

It's been done for years and they get away with it because they claim "supply and demand". They're just gouging deeper now.

[salin]

24. another spike will occur at Easter,

at Memorial Day, at Fourth of July weekend, at Labor Day, etc. There is no embarassment about collusive price gouging anymore.

[dogday]

25. If they would just increase production slightly every month

they could reserve what is not used and it would not cost as much, but hey then they would not make another 2 billion during these holidays....

[cynatnite]

7. I can accept spring break most of the time...

but not when it jumps almost 20 fucking cents in a few short days. It cost me $27 for half of a tank of gas earlier tonight. My stomach turns every time Hubby brings home the fuel receipts from his truck. This keeps up and everyone will find the prices of goods going up as a result.

Considering the record profits these damn oil companies are getting, I'd say they know they can jack up the goddamn prices about as high as they want without worry. :grr:

[SammyWinstonJack]

29. Remember when the repugs and Pinhead** were screaming about

the price back in Sept of 2000. Pinhead was strutting around saying how he would as President, tell the Saudis to open up the spigots or some such BS. He was also calling for Clinton to release oil from the strategic oil reserves. Yet the little pissant won't do anything to help out now. :argh: How much money is he squirreling away from this price gouging? The little creep is getting filthy rich off of this and his war profiteering, I'll just bet. I hope you rank and file, *one paycheck away from the poor house* repugs are happy with your choice. Everything is so screwed up because of your shitty choice. Death and destruction for five years now. Nice! :grr:

[madokie]

23. 2.48 yesterday here.

[Trajan]

3. GOP in power ....

Government BY and FOR Oil Corporations ....

[aquaman]

5. Hey, summer vacation is coming up, the oil execs....

gotta fill up their Hummers.

[walldude]

8. Same here (Colorado) I did a triple take at the pump

Paid 2.65 for unleaded. Was like 2.19 last time I had filled up.

[Broken_Hero]

9. yep...

today, in neosho mo, it was 2.39...and in benton county(nw arkansas) which is 20 miles or so away its 2.50....might as well start lubing my ass crack now, get ready for a good banging when summer hits...:sarcasm:

[linazelle]

10. We bought too much the last time prices were up-- you stop buying

prices stop increasing.

I just watched that maggot Kudlow Kramer (or whatever his name is) talking about gas prices not being a factor that will affect the booming economy because the last time they went to $3 the economy didn't slow down.

We need to cut down because basically we're being taken for granted and for a ride--literally.

[ClintonTyree]

14. The only reason prices were lowered........

was because of the Xmas shopping season. bush LOVES to have people out shopping (even if it is all going on people's credit cards) so he "jawboned" the oil companies into rolling back prices temporarily for the sake of baby jesus. Now the oil companies have to make up for those lost profits (they're barely making ends meet, ya' know?).
Continued "unrest" in the middle east is the official story. Gee, who created all of this "unrest"? :think: The corporate oligarchy feels it's time to rape the American consumer again, that's all. We'd better get used to it. $3.00 plus gasoline will be commonplace for the entire summer.

[area51]

27. "booming economy"?

There is no booming economy; I wish the nazis would stop lying about this. We wouldn't have the huge levels of unemployment & underemployment if the economy was booming. Unemployment is a lot higher than the bullshit 5% figure this nazi admin/nazi media is quoting.

[B Calm]

11. I believe it's called gouging.. You'd think those idiots who voted

for an oil president thinking it would mean cheap gas would be feeling pretty damn stupid by now!!

[moondust]

12. Slow gouge.

Ramping up slowly for summer so nobody notices.

[ThomWV]

16. Up $0.20 In One Hour Is NOT Slowly Ramping Up

Wednesday morning I had to go to town, it was $2.19. An hour later I was heading for home and passed the same (last one in town) station on my way home and the pirce of each grade was twenty cents higher, $2.39. Yesterday it was $2.64. Maybe If I stay home monday it will go down, makes about as much sense as anything else.

[kurth]

13. Gas price hikes blamed on increased corned beef consumption

Oil company executives believe a jump in corned beef consumption this week was the real reason for the high gas prices at the pump.

[Delphinus]

17. It's early, and only one cuppa joe in me ...

you're joking, right?

[kurth]

21. Well, their list of excuses is endless:

Supply and Demand
Lack of Demand but need "Cost Recovery"
Lack of Supply
Over Supply but need "Cost Recovery"
Supply Disruption
China Oil Consumption
China Dog Consumption
Bad Chinese Food
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Rita
Unknown Hurricane
Potential Hurricane
War in Iraq
War in Afghanistan
War on Terror
War of Words
Trader Worries
Trader Hemorrhoids
Full Moon

[formercia]

15. The Iranian Oil Bourse opens Monday

and traders were betting Fearless Leader would attack Iran in retaliation so Oil futures were driven up in price, thus, more expensive gas.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2518710&mesg_id=2518710

[spanone]

19. Mild winter, heating oil prices down, must make huge profits!

Raise gas.

[Lefty48197]

20. Operation: Line your pockets while you can

They know we're going to take over Congress after the November elections, and they're desperately stuffing their pockets while they have a chance.

[Telly Savalas]

22. Inelastic demand means they can mess with prices all they want

and it won't change until there's a serious commitment to alternative fuel and public transportation.

[zulchzulu]

26. Oil execs looking at getting new yachts for the summer

They can get pricey, especially the big ones that also need lots of fuel...these vessels must also comfortably go to the Cayman Islands for any little "events" that occur there. Oh, and hurricane insurance is a bitch too.

[Beelzebud]

28. Rich need to get richer. n/t

[RB TexLa]

30. Summer blend, schools will be out soon and vacations

Happens every summer. Summer blend gas is more expensive to begin with, add family vacations and the number of high school and college students not in school and you have what happens every year, the price goes up.

[converted_democrat]

31. Personally, I think it supports the theory that we are going to attack

Iran in the near future.. Especially when you figure in the 5.00 a gallon gas prices.. I too have heard this rumor.. We get all of our gas from one guy, and my SO is very friendly with him.. He says his distributor told him that it could go as high as 5.00 a gallon this summer, and to take action to "protect" his station because they didn't know what reaction the people would have to the prices.. Considering there is more gas in our reserves than virtually ever before, something would have happen to trigger 5.00 a gallon.. Either the dollar is going to go down the tubes and it will take more dollars to buy gas, or we are getting ready to go into Iran, and they are expecting major conflict..

on edit- When our refineries were off line, and with all the damage to the gulf states they couldn't justify 5.00 a gallon prices.. It would take something pretty drastic to justify that cost.. Either our dollar is going to be worthless soon, or this country is about to start major conflict..

[Lexingtonian]

32. brazen gouging

The oil companies did this every summer in California during the Nineties. A bit earlier and more crudely every year. Always cited "limited refining capacity" and the like while they were shipping freshly refined gasoline (uh, 'excess capacity') off to Latin America from LA and San Francisco.

California, is economically/logistically speaking, a huge rich island of a market 1500 miles from the eastern U.S. supply system. The companies have scaled up, removed competition and cartelled up, as they did in California, to treat the eastern U.S. as an island market they can choke supply to as well.

Pat Leahy asked an oil company guy last week why, every time oil companies merge, prices go up rather than down. The guy pretended not to know why.

[hopein08]

33. My local news said last night that part of the reason is that...

there are government regulations which require the companies to offer a different type of gas during the colder months than during the winter months. Naturally, the cold weather gas costs more to make (due to what is put into it, to prevent freezing and that type of thing) and therefore, gas prices will always rise (to a degree, I presume) during the winter.

I know, it sounds quite apologistic to me too, but that is what my local news said.

[RB TexLa]

34. Summer blend cost more to make

It burns cleaner, if we didn't have it you wouldn't be able to breath in large cities.