Posted on 05/18/2008 12:14:41 PM PDT by BulletBobCo
Drivers will likely need to become comfortable with gas at $4 a gallon, as oil experts say an era of historic pain at the pump will endure well beyond the Memorial Day weekend, when prices traditionally peak.
You might trade in that GMC Yukon for a Honda Civic, skip the highway for the bike lane and redefine that time-honored tradition of the road trip. Americans are already reordering their Memorial Day weekends, with AAA predicting a decrease in travel for the first time since 2002.
But those changes might not be enough to immediately pull down a gasoline market that follows the whims of the world economy. Newfound wealth fills pockets of the globe once known for overwhelming poverty, and for the first time prices are responding to their thirst for fuel as much as demand in America.
The new world order for petroleum markets has some analysts predicting far higher prices ahead. Gasoline in the U.S. could reach $7 a gallon because more drivers in India and China will hit the road even as American oil consumption retreats, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce predicts.
"Millions of new households will suddenly have straws to start sucking at the world's rapidly shrinking oil reserves," wrote CIBC analyst Jeff Rubin.
The forces behind the oil boom include the emergence of China and India as economic powers, exhausted fields controlled by nationalized companies, and market speculation that could be pushing prices higher than supply and demand can justify. While industry insiders dispute how much each of these factors contributes to oil prices, many expect the high prices to last for years.
"It's not going to be a one-year blip and go away like the Internet bubble," said Joseph Dancy, who manages the LSGI Venture Fund in Texas.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
Want lower gas prices?...get the government to stop printing money.
Oh No Not Again!!!!!!!
My energy plan: declare a national energy emergency; uncap all our oil wells that were capped back to the 60’s and forward; use the tons of exploration maps the oil companies have locked up for years and start drilling immediately; ban all the red tape for drilling and refineries; tell environmentalists to go to hell; drill offshore in the Gulf and Pacific. As for refineries, drop all the red tape and work non-stop 24/7 with thousands of workers just like we did in WWII to vamp up to win a war. My guess is that prices would drop quickly with that announcement.
Good read yet have you considered the real possibility that oil “experts” have nothing too do with this ?
Manipulation of hedge funds and trading on nymex etc is the turd in this punchbowl IMO. I am not standing in line for fuel, therefore no shortages. And record profits indicate someone is buying cheap and selling it high .......just an observation from here in the cheap seats.
Stay safe !
Pretty good plan there Red.
Democrats response, why doesn’t Bush do something? LOL
worth repeating...often
In a free market economy, prices rise when demand exceeds supply. Both supply and demand for oil are highly price-inelastic in the short term — therefore, price rise a lot when demand begins to exceed supply (and vice versa). The lack of lineups does not indicate anything.
So, what’s the price of a gallon of gas in India and China?
Good grief, $7 a gallon. That’s messed up. Too bad we can’t “drill our way out of high gas prices”. Didn’t Pelosi and company say they were going to do something about gas prices about a buck and a half ago?
But the price rise still sucks, we need ANWR and offshore drilling. Just crazy that we won't. People are clueless on how enormous Alaska is.
Are you no longer from Texas or are you no longer a redhead or both? Just wondering.
That’s what I was thinking.
I remember a few years ago when the spike started gas, where I live, went from 1.49 to 2.09 in two months and the stated reason was China wa using more.
I didn’t believe they just started using more oil all of a sudden.
Same now.
Theprice of oil has been rising in the last few years because of “world instability”. Every time there was any crisis no matter how small oil went up. Crisis over oil stays up. Nest “crisis” oil goes up. Crisis over oil stays up.
Now “they” say it’s China and India.
The Saudi’s and other opec members are geeting filthy rich. That’s all that’s happening.
The idiot Chavez is blustery now simply from oil profits.
Iran is building nukes because we are funding them through our ignorance and stupidy.
Relax,there are always doom sayers around.
I remember this guy Phil Flynn, vice president and energy analyst at Alaron Trading from over a year ago making a doom sayer statement about the future price of gasoline. - Tom
'Strong Possibility' Gas Will Rise to $4 Oil Prices Ease After Iran Hostages Are Freed, but Analysts Say High Demand to Keep Gas Prices High By DAN ARNALL ABC News Business Unit April 4, 2007
"Everyone asks me, will we see $4 a gallon? And the answer is, there is a strong possibility that we may see $4 a gallon," said Flynn.
Any one of my points brought up by themselves would validate what you say. Yet the lack of lines, that I personally experienced in the 70’s here in the CONUS, is telling when combined with profits that are allegedly very very high. Lots of oil with profit ? Confusing or enlightening........ I am just looking for a answer, speculation etc .
Here in the land of fat teddy, regular gas goes for $3.89, premium is over four bucks and diesel is $4.79.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.