Price of Gas & Price Fixing.

[MCP313]

I've looked at many charts recently to show how the price of gas relates to the price of crude and for the most part a dumbed down way to come up with retail price of gas would be to divide the price of crude by 42 for refining costs per gallon and add roughly around a total of 90 cents to come up with retail price of a gallon.

Every person who has published one of these charts came up with the same thing that there was a linear line for the most part until around 2005 or Hurricane Katrina. The 90 cents added since 05 has gone up as high as $1.60 recently

After that event the linear line didn't look very linear and shortly thereafter oil companies have been recording record profits ever since. Obviously its not illegal to make a profit but this leads me to the collusion and price fixing argument

"Price fixing is an arrangement in which several competing businesses make a secret agreement to set prices for their products to prevent real competition. It is a criminal violation of federal antitrust statutes.Price fixing also includes secret setting of favorable prices between suppliers and favored manufacturers or distributors to beat the competition."

Aren't the folks who should be investigating any price fixing allegations also have their campaigns financed by these same oil companies. Do they bite the hand that feeds them or do they just continue to turn the eye.

Crude recently was traded for around $100 so divide by 42 and you get 2.38 and add another 90 cents and retail should prolly be around 3.28 but we ae seeing 4.00 prices.

Crude dropped today to $97 I saw so divide by 42 and you get 2.31 and add .90 and you are looking at 3.21 which is by no means a bargain but probably what market value is.

Again this isn't an exact science and sure there are some other external factors and the economists will cry its supply and demand but anyone with half a brain knows demand for gas has fallen and not gone up.

[Quiksilver]

This kind of stuff has been going on for years. It's not just the oil companies but also the oil speculators on Wall Street.

[chibob]

Originally Posted by Quiksilver

This kind of stuff has been going on for years. It's not just the oil companies but also the oil speculators on Wall Street.

Here in lies the problem, imo

Cheap interest rates

[Quiksilver]

Originally Posted by chibob

Here in lies the problem, imo

Cheap interest rates

Not sure if its so much about cheap interest rates as it is just pure greed.

[hblocal]

i agree it is greed and price fixing. Anytime a group can control a product that has high demand, prices will continue to rise, until an alternative to that product comes along.

What drives me crazy is how fighting in the middle east, or a storm, or a fire will raise prices "xx" amount of dollars. When the incident that raised the price is under control, the price only drops half of the amount it went up. Until something is made by scientists to replace fuel or oil, we are gonna be stuck paying $5.00 a gallon or more for gas

[RanPicks]

yep - all about speculation - which is kind of why the price came back down - b/c of the algorithmic computer investing... Funds got to heavy with one commodity/stock (OIL) and had to right itself based on its diversifcation quotient...

All that Econ set aside... there's no way to quell collusion unless all the oil were controlled by the US... can't regulate it when it's world wide..

I'm sure this is pretty intuitive to a lot of folks, but anyway.. that's my 2 cents...

[Victor]

Originally Posted by RanPicks

yep - all about speculation - which is kind of why the price came back down - b/c of the algorithmic computer investing... Funds got to heavy with one commodity/stock (OIL) and had to right itself based on its diversifcation quotient...

All that Econ set aside... there's no way to quell collusion unless all the oil were controlled by the US... can't regulate it when it's world wide..

I'm sure this is pretty intuitive to a lot of folks, but anyway.. that's my 2 cents...

[JawDawg]

We need to drill more fellas that's all there is to it. Or use much less- it's our drug of choice that's for sure.

[MCP313]

I'm not talking about so called trading and market prices and speculation being the driving force.

What I am saying is what the so called speculated price settles at be it for crude or gasoline is the mark up which sat at 90 cents forever and and 5 years ago spiked to its current rough 160. Thats where the price fix argument comes in.