Who control the price of oil ?

Answer 1

You do and everyone buying gas or oil products does. If you want the price to go down then don't but it. Oil is a commodity sold on the Chicago exchange, it is bidded according to supply and demand. If the demand goes down then the price goes down. But liberals will not understand this principle, so for them the price is controlled by Bush and his cronies. OPEC does not control the price, only the supply, which can affect the price, but is not a controlling factor, because individual OPEC countries always break the pact and sell on their own. Plus the USA gets 90% of it oil from Canada and Mexico.

Answer 2

In theory, the price of oil is "set"by purely market forces--it rises and falls based on trading in oil as a commodity, just like wheat or soybeans --or like a stock in the stock market.

That is the justification for the lack of intervention by the bush administration--its purely a (admittedly unpleasant) result of natural market forces.

However, that's NOT what is happening. First, the theory: in a "perfectly competative market, with full and accurate knowledge of market conditionson the part of participants, the price will reflect actual supply and demand." (OK, I know that's a simplified version--this is Y/A, not econ 101). However, the notion of a perfectly competative market implies a large number of producers and consuers. That is not the case with oil. There areonly a few producers--OPEC, primarily--and they ddon't compete, its a cartel. The "consumers" are the oil companies--basically just 6--and they are producers as well.

It doewssn't take agenius to see that that makes the notion of a "free market" a joke. OPEC countries can--and do--manipulate prices by artifically limiting or increasing production--and the oil companies in America do the same thing on a routinebasis, shutting down refineries and then raising prices to offset the "shortage" they've created. Andso on.

The commodities tradingin oil appears, inandof itself, to be fairly legit. but the producers are powerful enough that they can create and manipulate the market conditions that the commodities market responds to--so it isn't acutally a true free marketat all.

Answer 3

OPEC has a board that determines that. It is based on a number of factors. One of those factors is supply and demand. If the demand is high and the supply is low than we pay more if the supply is high and the demand is low we pay less. Also refinery capacity. If we don't build more refineries the ones we have reach capacity thus limiting the supply of fuel available on the market. So the refinery may buy the crude oil at a reasonable price based on OPEC pricing but sell it for a huge profit because of the demand at home.

Since the sun and hydrogen are free and most abundant all over the world maybe we need to focus more on them for our energy than nations that hate us, a fuel in limited supply and a fuel that pollutes our enviornment.

Answer 4

People like OPEC control the price of oil but the gas prices is controlled by the oil companies but the basic gas prices are made by the supply and demand. If we don't demand the gas, they can't get any richer and the price of gas would do down.

Answer 5

The oil drillers and the Republicans that represent them. Big travel holiday coming up? Ok, let's decrease production to drive up prices. Yes, supply and demand controls price. It's just a shame that they have such tight control over the supply levels while the demand remains constant.

I wonder why Exxon-Mobil was Bush's biggest supporter? Hmmmm, I wonder what their motive was?

Yes, I know I'm going to get 20 thumbs down for posting this, but all that does is prove that the truth hurts.

Answer 6

OPEC does. Its an organization of countries (exclusing the US) which sets prices to make sure their investors get their fair share and mainly maintain their best interests. Its mainly Arab countries, Venezuela India I think..to name a few.
The US had little pull on their decidions since they are not part of the organization and are merely buyers so the US trade will base their prices based on the price of the barrel for that given time. It IS OPEC"S right to increase their prices due to the world's demand. They only take care of their interests and their own country's well being which is fair given the fact that they have a resource we all want and need.

Answer 7

You do. Gas is cheaper in places where they have good public transportation and where people walk and ride bicycles a lot. When there is a higher demand for alternative fuels and means of transportation and a lower demand for gas the price of oil will go down. Ever notice how gas goes up during summer and on holidays when people travel a lot?

Answer 8

Saudi Arabia

"Exxon is the giant among publicly traded oil companies. But Exxon pales in comparison to Saudi Arabia, and its state-owned oil company, Aramco.

Geologist Matt Badiali believes that oil prices won't be able to fall significantly until large investments are made in infrastructure worldwide. So the price of oil can stay high.

Exxon, BP, and Royal Dutch will of course be beneficiaries. But the biggest beneficiary will likely be Saudi Arabia.

So when someone asks, who controls the oil? The answer is no surprise - it's not Exxon – it’s Saudi Arabia."

Answer 9

Oil speculators in the market.

They decide the price based on output, consumption, and other factors, such as war in the Middle East which could potentially disrupt supplies.

Answer 10

OPEC
and Wall Street traders....if they buy more because they feel a future chance for profit, it pushes demand up, and the price along with it.A chance for profit would be any event that threatens output such as; storms that shut down oil fields, terrorists that blow them up, wars that prevent wells from being drilled.