Why is gas going up again? Isn't it still around $40?

[leftyladyfrommo]

We were down to 1.29 and now its back up to 1.85.

I just don't understand. I always feel like this is just another great American ripoff.

[babylonsister]

1. Because...are you sitting down?...people are using less.

:shrug: That's what I heard anyway. People are using less, demand is down, so supplies have been cut. :crazy:

[Greyhound]

2. That's because it is.

Raise it $1.00 when the price goes up, back off $.95 when it goes back down, repeat forever.

[baldguy]

3. Sub-$2 gas was just a way for the oil cartels to make you think things aren't really that bad.

It'll be $5-6 by the end of the year.

[TahitiNut]

4. It'll be even more interesting when the refineries go back to their 'summer mix.'

:grr:

[TwilightGardener]

5. No one will ever convince me that supply and demand drives gas prices.

It's the oil companies that have us by the short hairs, nothing more, nothing less.

[leftyladyfrommo]

9. It never makes any sense.

The last time we were driving less the price went down - due to decreased demand. Now that the price is back down under $2 I would think that demand would be up some.

[TwilightGardener]

14. I want to know why the price of goods, groceries and services haven't

gone down with the fuel prices going down--nope, that isn't happening.

[NeedleCast]

15. price gouging, no question

I asked a friend of mine why the airline she works for hadn't elimiated checked bag fees and other additional prices they added due to the fuel cost increase.

She laughed.

[Initech]

16. Completely agree.

This is manipulation and gouging, plain and simple. If oil is really driven by demand then how come Venezuela pays $0.12 / gallon (and the price has remained consistent throughout the Bush nightmare) and we pay anywhere from $2.00 / gal - $4.50 / gal?

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

6. They have been shutting down the refineries, left and right...

For "routine maintenance". It's one of their standard dodges.

One would hope that this administration would investigate the manipulation of prices through the manipulation of the supply of distillates, but I am afraid I am finally all out of hope.

So I am just sitting here, quietly, waiting for the riots to start. Trust me: they will. Figure 2010-2011.

[NeedleCast]

7. Low National Output

Refiners are making less gas because demand is down.

I'd be willing to bet my teeth though that there some "price testing" going on with the big oil companies to see how much people are willing to pay before demand slips again.


What'll really bend your brain is the fact that many airlines recently slashed prices for tickets but the price of automobile gas is going up...

[spanone]

8. refining less to spike prices

[leftyladyfrommo]

10. Great. n/t

[Lint Head]

11. Because the oil companies need a few billion more on top of

last history making mega profits.
:dem:

[liberal N proud]

12. Spring Break will be starting soon

Nail those travelers, milk them of every dollar they can.

Come summer, look for spikes as usual.

[pleah]

13. Oil companies are shooting for a new record in profits. n/t

[d_r]

17. they cut production to up the price

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29038306

The break embattled U.S. consumers have been getting at the gas pumps may be ending as refiners slash fuel production to improve sagging profits. Retail gasoline prices have jumped 22 cents since early January to $1.91 a gallon and could top $2 a gallon in the coming weeks as refinery output cuts tighten up supplies, auto and travel group AAA said on Thursday.

At least seven U.S. refiners have announced fuel production cuts as a result of weak profits stemming from softening demand, including Valero Energy Corp and ConocoPhillips -- the nation's two biggest fuel producers.

As of the end of January, refiners were running their plants at just 82.5 percent of capacity -- four percentage points below last year, according to government figures.

"There is too much capacity to make gasoline in this environment," Valero Chief Executive Bill Klesse said last week. "If the industry doesn't balance supply with demand we will have negative margins as we had in December.

[quiller4]

18. Production cuts are part of the picture but look at futures prices

market manipulation has been a greater factor than supply and demand in recent gas price fluctuations.

[Ernesto]

19. "just another great American ripoff"

The refiners are preparing for their "Summer Surge" against drivers!

"Citigroup’s trade shows how the contango, caused by an inventory surplus onshore, is attracting more traders to hoard oil. Brent crude for January 2010 settlement sells for $58.97 a barrel, 30 percent above the contract for next month. Stockpiles surged as recession reduced demand, while forward prices remain higher on forecasts OPEC cuts will start to curb excess supply."

“We anticipate more ships to be chartered as storage,” Erik Jensen, an analyst at Lorentzen & Stemoco AS in Oslo, said by phone. “Anyone can do it, it’s no problem to charter a ship, it’s pretty much risk free to do so.”
http://www.bigbigforums.com/news-information/609608-filled-oil-tankers-waiting-dock-higher-oil-prices.html