God I hope your feeling is wrong Jim..I don't see how this country would be able to keep going at that price..most people on minimum wage and feeding a family just can't do it..
Here are two REALLY SCARY charts you should take into account.
First, is the relationship of the price of a barrel of oil and a gallon of gas over the last 18 months. You'll notice that during the early part of that time frame, when the price of oil went up, the price of gas also went up on a fairly regular ratio. The left side shows the price of a barrel of oil, and the right side shows the price of a gallon of gasoline. They were in concert a year ago- but since the economy has slowed, oil has incresed faster than gas- demand has dropped slightly.
Next, is the relationship between the price of oil over the last three months, and the price of a gallon of gas:
What is scary is that IF the price of gasoline truly reflected the price of a barrel of oil, our gasoline price right now SHOULD be a LOT higher than it is. It is only because we are easing off demand that the price increase has not been as rapid, and that demand is about to jump as we get into the summer driving season.
Which tells me this- $4 gas is with weeks of being the norm. we SHOULD be at $4 right now, not $3.61.
And it tells me that unless something changes, and changes soon, that $5 gas is within the field of possibilities this summer.
I better go top off my tank....
*(Good thing is I use E-85 when I can- at $2.90 a gallon right now locally, E85 continues to be a valid substitute for me. )
God I hope your feeling is wrong Jim..I don't see how this country would be able to keep going at that price..most people on minimum wage and feeding a family just can't do it..
But the minimum wage was never meant to feed a family-now was it?
And Buster, who is it exactly that kept the minium wage frozen from 1997 until - what was it, THIS PAST YEAR, when it moved from 5.35 to 5.85?
http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/coverage.htm
I do recall several times when Congress wanted to raise the minimum wage by a very small amount, and the current President stopped it with a veto threat several times.
You know, that could be one of the things that has to do with what is happening in our economy right now- the bump in the minimum wage, combined with the high price of oil, both combining to hit our economy. Remember, the minimum wage will go up again to $6.55 effective July 24th this year, and to $7.25 next year in July.
If you subscribe to the theory that raising the minimum wage will have a slow-down on the economy, then we'll have at least another two years for the economy to digest those increases. Had the increases been much smaller, and spread out over the last ten years, the impact would have been smaller.....
As for oil prices- look out. It looks like there was a strike this morning at a refinery serving the North Sea oil fields-
That could push Oil even higher next week.http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080427/...efinery_strike
Strike in Scotland closes major North Sea oil pipeline
EDINBURGH, Scotland - Hundreds of workers at Scotland's only oil refinery on Sunday began a 48-hour strike that has forced BP PLC to shut a pipeline system that delivers almost a third of Britain's North Sea oil.
Hang on to your hats, because we haven't seen a leveling out of oil prices just yet.
This could get real nasty, real fast, if gasoline hits $5 soon. It's already affecting the types of cars people are buying- locally many people are parking the pickup trucks, and looking for smaller cars. Not a bad idea, in my mind..
Last edited by James48843; 04-27-2008 at 08:11 AM.
Damn this Oil Slick is KILLIN' ME, where will it end? SUPPORT the DOLLAR, I've been preaching this for over a year, but FED kept cutting interest rates due to the Housing Bubble bursting and HERE WE ARE!!. Attachment 3806
Last edited by nnuut; 04-27-2008 at 02:12 PM.
Here is a quote from that article about the pipeline being shut down in Scotland:
If it makes you feel any better....the price of gasoline has jumped in the UK now to US $2.45 per liter.Some Scottish gas stations were charging 1.25 pounds — $2.47 — Saturday for a liter of unleaded, up from about 1.08 pounds — $2.14 — on Monday.
That works out to $9.31 a U.S. gallon.
If you think gas prices here are high, you should see what they are in the rest of the world.
How would our economy do on $9.31 a gallon gasoline?
I know, it's Not pretty over there!! This is getting NASTY!! Check it out!
http://www.aaroadwatch.ie/eupetrolprices/
In Kuwait, the fuel retails at $0.78 a gallon
The UAE, the cheapest variant of gasoline currently costs per gallon ($1.5667), while in Saudi Arabia - the world's largest oil producer, gasoline costs $0.91 a gallon
Makes ya wanna go hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
subsidized by USA tax dollars to keep the price down, tyvm!
and if you don't believe that, check it out.
Believe it or not the higher prices in Europe is due to Government TAXES!!
We pay 12% to 13% Federal taxes on a gallon of gas.
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/gdu/gasdiesel.asp
And I don't drink..boy that just sucks big green grasshopper tails
Hate grasshopper tails and this!
From our friends in GB!!
Oil climbs on UK pipeline fears
The pipeline relies on power from the Grangemouth refinery
Oil prices rose above $119 a barrel as oil giant BP prepared to shut down a key North Sea pipeline and a strike at Exxon in Nigeria disrupted production.
BP's Forties pipeline, which provides a third of the UK's daily oil output, will close if a two-day strike by refinery workers goes ahead.
US light crude rose $3.15 to $119.21 a barrel, but later settled at $118.52. London Brent crude settled at $116.34.
Rebels in Nigeria also claimed another attack on a Royal Dutch Shell pipeline.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta has repeatedly tried to sabotage Shell's production in recent weeks.
A strike by workers at Exxon Mobil, Nigeria's biggest foreign oil producer, has further disrupted production in the African country. It said it had been forced to halt its output of crude oil, estimated at 200,000 barrels per day.
Oil had hit a record high of $119.90 a barrel on Tuesday.
Strike planned
In the UK, workers at the Grangemouth plant are due to take part in a two-day strike from Sunday in a row over pensions.
FORTIES OIL PIPELINE
The Forties pipeline system (FPS) carries crude oil from the Forties oil fields in the North Sea
After making landfall at Cruden Bay the oil travels to the Kinneil terminal at Grangemouth
At Kinneil it is stabilised and gas processing takes place
The Kinneil terminal uses electricity and steam from the nearby Grangemouth refinery to operate
Strike refinery shutdown complete
The BP-run pipeline from the Forties oil fields in the North Sea, relies on steam and electricity from the Ineos refinery at Grangemouth in central Scotland.
A BP spokesman said that closing Grangemouth would cause up to 70 platforms in the North Sea to either shut down or reduce production of oil.
BP said the pipeline would close when the provision of steam and electricity from Grangemouth runs out.
The company added that it would keep the pipeline open as long as possible, but anticipated shutting it late on Saturday, if strike action goes ahead.
Several factors have been behind the rally in oil prices.
Demand for oil from booming economies such as China and India is growing, while supplies have remained tight.
Opec, a group of oil producing countries, has shown itself disinclined to raise quotas to curb rising prices.
And supply disruptions, like those in Nigeria and the expected shutdown of the Forties pipeline, have lead to short-term spikes in prices.
A weak dollar has also made dollar-denominated assets such as oil and other commodities relatively cheap for some investors. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7366896.stm
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