>>>>>We shouldn't complain if we won't do something about it. And I include myself in that statement. As Tamar likes to say, if you don't vote, don't complain. My variation on that is if you don't do SOMETHING to fight gas gouging, don't complain. Let the oil producing nations continue to have their way with us.
>>>>
>>>>Oil producing nations have less to do with this than the oil industry here. Shell et al just have us shelling out more cash than we should, because they can.
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>>>Oh, really? Do you mean that OPEC has less influence on oil prices than Shell?
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>>Currently, yes. While the OPEC can influence the price per barrel, what happens at the pump is more the business of the franchise owner - i.e. Shell et al. Just read the link from the second message in this thread - OPEC price going up by $1 shouldn't mean more than a couple of cents, but instead it means many times more.
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>>Which part of "price gauging" and "collusion" is not clear?
>
>Nobody complained when OPEC influenced price rise by $20 and gas price going by couple cents.
>I feel that some information is required here. US domestic gasoline market stopped to be independent long time ago, about 70s when construction of new refineries was effectively banned. Since then, USA imports increasing amount of gasoline from foreign countries, so currency fluctuations (e.g. between USD and Euro) affect gas price on daily basis.
>The major thing that is 'not clear' to me is the following. There are too many people with rather preliminary knowledge of oil or any other commodity markets, but with extremely firm knowledge about collusion and gauging. Imho, it says more about personal attitudes or social views than about actual situation in particular industry.


The currency point is a good one.