What's driving the price of gasoline up this time? Supply and demand is a fool's answer, so what's the real...

Question

reason? Lack of refineries, scheduled maintenance, Katrina, futures traders? Or could it just be good old manipulation?

Answer 1

Yeah, that "supply and demand" thing gets me every time. There's no greater demand for oil than there has been, and no proof that the supply has gone down.

But the prices continue to go up.

Answer 2

Sigh! I am getting weary of posting the answer to this.
Supply and demand is one of the driving forces in the increase in gas prices. The real engine, however, is the devaluation of the dollar cause by the amount of deficit spending on the part of the current administration.
Here's a few facts, give or take a few $100 billion. The US GDP has increased about $3.4 trillion since year 2000. The federal deficit during that time was $2.7 trillion. That means the increase in the economy was diluted about 80% by worthless money put into circulation by the government. It diluted all US dollars in circulation by about 33%. That is more than 2/3 the increase in gas prices. The rest can be attributed to the expanded economy.
Gas prices would still be higher than in year 2000 without the deficit spending but not nearly as much.

Answer 3

It is all what the society could bear. OPEC sets the price of the oil and the refiners make it into gasoline. These huge refiners such as Exxon Mobil have to make their shareholders happy too. They are making record profits. But they are working on the same margins as before. If they make a 20% margin on a $1.00 gallon of gas or a 20% margin on a $3.00 gallon of gas. Well, I can tell you the latter will help the record profits become easily obtainable. The price of gas is also cyclical. Usually before the summer and winter gas prices go up. The summer is a major vacation/drive time and winter is the time people stock up on heating oils and natural gas to stay warm. Well what ever comes out of it. I really wish the prices would not fluctuate so much it is becoming a real pain.

Answer 4

The answer to this question has to do with supply and demand. It happens to deal with whats going on with other countries. Anyone remember earlier this week when Iran took 15 british sailors. This has a ripple effect on the world. The UN reacted by putting sanctions on Iran therefore raising gas prices because of the decrease in oil. I hope that helped.

Answer 5

Supply and demand. Prices have gone up in March 24 of the last 25 years.
Refineries shut down to change from heating oil production to gas production. People drive to grandma's house for Easter and spring breakers drive to South Beach for spring break....demand goes up. Future traders (of which I am one) "bet" on this trend and profit from it..others bury their money in their back yard or buy ipods, psps and x boxes then just complain about it.

Answer 6

Old saying of supply and demand was the force that drove price of oil. Today it is the CEO's of the remaining oil companies who seem to have their fingers on price of oil. Guess they did not make enough in profits and salaries in 2006. Plus we have presidential race on the horizon and guess what party will benefit from big oil?

Answer 7

The price of oil dropped to $50/barrel at the beginning of the year because of unseasonably warm weather in the eastern US. Then temperatures returned to normal and oil rebounded into the $60/barrel range. That's really about it.

Answer 8

Not the supply...the people controlling the supply. The people who get mega bucks when they make it look like there's less of a supply than there really is.

Answer 9

Summer, every summer the price goes up as people travel more. Manipulation would be my guess.

Answer 10

Probably manipulation. But we'll never know, now that [democrat-controlled] congress has effectively cut the oil companies loose [killed their subsides] they can charge what they like.

Thanks Dems, may we have another.