Were any of you guys crying crocodile tears for the oil companies when gasoline and diesel cost less than $1 a gallon and their profits were at all time lows? I didn't think so. In the case of $1 a gallon fuel those were the good old days when there was a glut of diesel and gasoline on the markets because the Asian economies were in the economic doldrums. China and India are booming now and $1 a gallon fuel is never coming back. On the hurricane thing when a disaster such as Katrina happens the price typically spikes because of anticpating shortages or people making runs on the gas stations to horde fuel. If they don't raise the price during a hurricane all the nervous nellies running out there filling up 5 gallon jerry cans will cause the pumps to go dry. Then there will be no fuel to be had at any price so think about that. Free market does not mean "product on demand" it means "product at whatever price the buyer is willing to pay". I can take my parents as a case in point my step dad started driving my mom to her work and dropping her off then picking her up in the evenings after he got off from work. Using one car instead of two. They're not willing to pump $3 a gallon gas in two cars. That's what happens when the pruices rise if they rise too much less and less gas gets used then economic recession comes in to play. Do you really think the oil companies want to see an economic recession. Which explains why they don't arbitrarily set the price of oil so they can just get rich. The market sets the price.

 

I was talking about price gouging by arbitrarily upping prices when the hurricane victims got government money to get a place to live. So you think a localized area where a hurricane hits is going to run pumps dry when some people want to fill up their 5 gallon gas cans? That's not only absurd, but downright crazy. If the oil companies are running THAT thin of a margine on stock, then there's a stock market just waiting to crash.

I have friends that work at refineries. They all say there is no shortage or low stocks when there is any perceived run on the pumps, it's all hot air. Anyone remember the gas shortages in the '70's? Yeah, the times where some of the major oil companies were caught dumping fuel in the desert.

If anyhting the Asian boon is doing nothing but driving up the prices because they are seen as open markets by the greedy companies. China wants so badly to be like the west they'll pay anyhting for it, as well as trash their entire eco-system to be like us. Watch the show "China Rising"....there is barealy any rivers left that aren't polluted beyond hope. They are cutting farm lands at incredible rates and are now incapable of farming enough to feed 1/3 of the country, yet they can't import enough either.

American businesses are all heading overseas and over borders for cheap labor to maximize profits. Over 75% of the U.S. gross national product is service based. We arne't even an industrialized country anymore. It's ALL about money...every bit of it.

There is no crocodile tears.

 

Dieseljunky is basically correct in that the free market supplies us the quantity demanded at the market price. Corporations like Exxon and BP are always going to try to maximize profits, and some market situations are more profitable than others. "Greed" is not a good term for it.Oil companiesmake a much smaller profit as a percentage of total sales than companies like Microsoftor Google. If you think Exxon is making too much profit at your expense, you could always hedge against rising prices by buying shares of their stock. These companies are owned by people like you and me, who buy their stock (or buy mutual funds that invest in the same stock) and share the profits or losses.

The alternative to all this is having the government set price controls. As we saw in the late 70s, when you insert an artificial price that is lower than the market will bear you end up with shortages. I don't know about you guys, but I would rather pay $5 a gallon for fuel than wait in a line for hours on only odd or even days.

 

But as noted, the "shortages" in the 70's were not true shortages at all. Just like today, the claim that the demand is higher than the supply is bogus BS. Artificially created markets are a form of fraud.

Either way, everyone can believe what they wish. I for one will not believe the supply and demand scam that is going on right now.

 

did y'all take economics in school?

didt they teach the sytem of demand vs quantiuty on hand vs price??? it never seems to hold true to real life .

here in the Phoenix area, we are lookin between 279 and 309 for diesel. just depends on which neighborhood youre in...

 

How many of you guy's buy your fuel at Citgo? I HATE doing it, however I know it's a pretty good turn over rate there because it's priced less.

Do you guy's use Citgo?

 

Just say no to Hugo and Citgo, eazy for me they don't sell diesel here anyway, but most I know don't buy there anymore and the pumps are sitting empty for the most part, that's why 7-11 wants to get away for Citgo as soon as the contract is over, so they can start selling gas again

 

I listened to the ag report on the radio the other day-- harvest is right around the corner and they are saying there will be a shortage of ULSD this fall. That would explain current prices.

 

Profits profits profits. That IS the name of the game. The refinery down for repairs, or hurricane, or whatever BS they come up with is just that BS! The plain fact of the the martter is this, there are plenty of countries in the world that are more than willing to pay 3 - 4 times for a gallon of fuel what we pay. Where do you think the fuel is gonna go? I don't like it, but if I were running the show I'd sell for the highest price I could get too. The only power we will ever have over the situation is to not buy the fuel. When they have a surplus the price will drop some. Everyone got their bicycle ready to roll?

 

Why is the price per barrel so high? OPEC?

I don't get it... it's not like anyone plants some magic seed in the ground and wait for rain and sun or nurture the field or even actually do anything for oil to come bubbling up out of the ground. It's only by accident that land someone possesses happens to have oil. Others pay for the priviledge to explore for oil.

Hum? How much richer do we want to be today? Let's raise the price per barrel.

Why not expand the use of bio-diesel for our Cummins vehicles and lessen the dependance on oil?