The price of gasoline. I was curious to see what the price of gasoline was in 2000?

Question

It's rather funny in a sick perverted sort of way reading this interview. Someone please tell me the oil industry from OPEC to America isn't chock full of crooks making billions on us. For almost thirty five years basically nothing has been done to either build new refineries to increase supply or to decrease demand by creating other forms of energy for our society that are more earth friendly. It's all about the money. With billions in profit, that's a lot of incentive for dubious business practices. Is the oil industry manipulated or does supply and demand create the business environment. Hope you take the time to read the interview.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/transportation/jan-june00/gas_3-15.html

Answer 1

Thanks for that link, a little trip back to only 2000. I loved the comments-oil will "never hit $30 a barrel". Now we're at $80 and the coast is clear for $100.

I think the oil industry over these years(and yes they do control the price of gasoline but that's a long explanation no one wants to hear)has been very clever in raising the price in increments. Sure, $30 seemed awful, then later $50, but people got used to that, then refinery operations are somehow "disrupted" and oil goes up some more and all the time we're assured that this is temporary, this is the "peak". But it's not.

This is a 2000 energy outlook(also hilarious).

For the upcoming summer season (April to September), motor gasoline markets are projected to exhibit an extraordinarily tight supply/demand balance.


"Retail gasoline prices (regular grade) are expected to average $1.46 per gallon, 25 percent higher than last summer’s average of $1.17 per gallon. That projection also exceeds the previous (current-dollar) record summer average of $1.35 recorded in 1981. Nominal prices are expected to reach a peak of $1.52 per gallon in April—a new record--and decline steadily to $1.39 per gallon by September due to the impact of increases in world-wide crude oil production. These projections presume no disruptions of refinery motor gasoline production."



And yes, that is probably the easiest market to manipulate through the commodity futures markets.

One more point-back in the 70s, when their was a "crisis" and gasoline and oil skyrocketed, it was quite sudden and never went down or stabilized so people bought small cars. I bought my 1980 Datsun at that time, before small cars were very popular.

This time, they have been more clever, just when people are ready to sell the SUV, "gas prices stabilize" so they keep it. By the time, a few months later, gas goes up, those people are used to it and complain but don't sell the SUV. And so on and so on.

Blame the oil companies or the government? Blame both, they are working in tandem.

Answer 2

Oil prices are not going up because of industry manipulation. Oil prices are going up because the value of the dollar keeps going down on the international currency market. The dollar has been in decline since Bush took office.
Without going into much detail, oil is traded on the international market in dollars. Oil producing nations then convert those dollars to other currencies they need to buy whatever they need from the international market. As the dollar declines, oil producing nations require more dollars to get the same value for their product.
The oil companies are getting a bum rap over this. What is driving the value of the dollar down is the huge deficit the bush administration has created.
Since the year 2000, the GDP in the USA has increase about $6 trillion. I have forgotten the exact number, but the national debt has increased about $5 trillion. That's $5 trillion in worthless money the government has circulated. That worthless money dilutes the value of the earned money the economy generates. This causes the value of the dollar to go down, and the cost of imports to go up.
If you want to angry over it, as you should be, focus the anger at the government not the oil companies.

edit:
In 2000, crude oil was selling at about $30 a barrel. Today it's selling at over $80 a barrel. That's how much value your dollar has lost during the last 7 years because of deficit spending. Are you angerier now? I hope so.

Answer 3

I've always found it interesting how many people think that the War in Iraq is about gaining Iraq's oil for the US market. In fact, the opposite is true. Bush invaded, at the behest of the Saudi, to shut down Iraqi Oil Production.

Even having to go through the UN's Oil for Food farce, Sadam was overselling his OPEC quota. Worse, he was selling oil for Euros instead of Dollars. Taking Iraq out of the picture enabled the huge surge in oil prices that we've come to know and hate at the pump. In case you're wondering how Hugo Chavez got to be a bad guy, same reason. Only Bush tied down too many troops to invade Venezuela and he's too popular for the CIA to have much luck overthrowing him.

And, of course, Republicans are urging a boycott of CITGO, the only national oil company that DOESN'T fund Islamic Terrorism.

It really is Supply and Demand. Big Oil has a monopoly lock on the Supply and they keep increasing their demands. Conspiracy theorists are way off base. Jews have nothing on Big Oil when it comes to manipulating governments.

Where the Hell is Teddy Roosevelt when we need him?

Answer 4

I would check to see if it is on the petroleum institues web page.

And while it is true that it's all about money, there are two sides to the price equation, basically price is a function of supply and demand. WE are as much to blame for the price as the suppliers, WE control demand and no one seems to be cutting back. I know a lot of people who drive their kids to special (public) schools even though they live within walking distance of great schools. I have a friend who spends 1.5 hours a day doing just that, and she has a friend who does the same thing, even though she lives in Potomac, MD (one of the richest suburbs in the U.S., with some of the best schools). I have neighbors that drive to the store that is 8/10ths of a mile from our house, and buy 1 item (I see it happen a lot, since I walk there daily), these same people gripe about the cost of gas. I guess it's just easier to blame someone else, makes us all feel a lot better.

Answer 5

In 2000 it was less then 1.50 ...It wasn't until after the trade center bombings that it started going up, I only know because that's when all those brokers where trying to get everyone to buy oil commodities "remember the commercials about how oil prices will double and triple in the next five years...Dam I should have bought some oil commodities back then I'd be able to afford Gores carbon credits now.

We just bought 2 scooters that get 141 miles to thegallon and we use them to get to work and school ....We are saving bundles ...

Answer 6

The average retail price of gasoline in 2000 was $1.48. That's before two oil men were in the white house. Remember when people said prices would go up and they were called paranoid?

Answer 7

I still remember that time......in December of 1999 I could buy regular unleaded gas for about 49 cents/Liter.

Then suddenly in Jan of 2000, the price jumped to 65 cents/Liter. It's been going up since then.

Answer 8

$1.35, LA CA

Why? No special Interests in oil industry by Pres. and VP.

Answer 9

in 1998 it was 85 cents in Detroit,,in 2000 it was over 1.00..that was expansive then....since then oil company's have made more money than you could write zeros too.chow

Answer 10

1.47 here in Texas. Back in the day.