Lest anyone forget, even as crude oil prices hovered around $60 a barrel beginning in October, gas prices fell, miraculously, hitting their lowest level in the week just before the election. A fluctuation of 3% up and down for crude was matched by a steady decline in gas prices of a bout 4.5%. And even now, as crude continues to drop, to $56 a barrel, retail prices continue to rise.
My Valero station on the corner was at $2.29 from about Nov 1 thru Nov 7. I remarked to Ms. Duckman that guaranteed, after the election the prices would go up.
On Tuesday, glorious Tuesday 11/7/06, it was $2.29. On Wednesday morning, 8 hours later, it was $2.39, by Friday, $2.43. Today, a week later, $2.49.
Coincidence?
I don't think so. You can read a long discussion over at DKos refuting the conspiracy theory, how they couldn't move that much crude around, NYMEX, shorts, yada yada. All overlooking this stark price at the pump. If the big dealers push their prices at the pump down, everybody else follows. And who controls the big dealers? Big Oil. Explain why the prices didn't go up Tuesday, or the Thursday before, a day that prices very commonly change? Why the day after the election, where there was no corresponding change in crude prices, no natural disaster, no winter formulation crisis, nothing. Just the failure of the GOP to keep their houses, despite the best efforts of our Corporate Masters.
They threw everything at the Democrats, and lost. Democracy still lives, but the forces opposing it aren't resting on their profits. The fight continues. Next up, Schwarzenegger.
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7 comments:
Hey Duckman, nice colors! Congrats on the new site.
Yep, prices have gone up considerably here, too. No one was fooled. And I expect the people will pay even more for Bush's loss this last election. Chimpy has shown himself to be quite petty when it comes to losing.
Really well laid out site, congratulations!
DKos article seems to overlook that the BigOil fellas had more than enough time this last year to manipulate the prices, including raising them in spring to offset the drop. And what good would an oil friend be if he didn't say thank you for the windfall profits? There's no argument or mystery here.
Gas dropped to 2.01 here. 3 cents off with discount card, so I'm at 1.98.
Not bad for a product that takes $6 to $8 dollars per barrel to explore for, drill for, transport to a terminal, and pipe to a refinery. Lets see: $60.00 a barrel, 51% of that become gasoline, 15% fuel oil, 12% jet fuel. Why, a little ciphering and carrying some double-naughts -subtract the cost of the raw product- and it shows that we are screwing the pooch!
hey duckman,greetings from a fellow east county resident.saw the same thing at my local station.gas has gone up 20 cents a gallon for all 3 grades since that tuesday.coincidence?no way!
Oh good grief. They'll let ANYONE can have a blog these days. (lol).
On energy prices, the economy is slowing due to overtightening by the Federal Reserve. Combine that with the end of "peak driving season" (summer) and the mild-weather season of late summer and early fall, and you get a drop in energy prices.
No mystery. No conspiracy.
By the way, the Fed will most likely be forced to lower rates early 2007 because they went too far. We have to hope they didn't miss the target and create a recession.
Sorry, muckdog, but the conspiracy lives. The standard autumn decline only set records this year for how fast and far it fell. And the bottom usually occurs two to four weeks later, not right ON Election Day.
I heard Lundberg say prices were up a nickel in the last two weeks. Here in Oregon, it's been 30 cents in two weeks.
Whether it's the producers or refiners, they're crooks. If the elected Dems don't go after them, AND add a windfall profits tax, then the elected Dems are worthless.
If the jump had been even a few days later, well, that would have been the triumph of pragmatism over blind greed, but we know who rules, right, greed.
Lessee, November=end of summer. Yep, sounds about right, at least here in SoCal where it's been mid 80's all week. Not so much for the rest of the country.
Oh, er, mucky, while crude has fallen, retail prices shot UP, not down. That's what you meant, right, up is down?
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