I heard someone made an interesting comment on tv some time ago.

Not too long ago the price for a barrel was around 32$. Then really fast it jumped to 40$. This created a panic but the bigger panic created now with the barrel over 50$ is much bigger than the one created at 40$. Next logical move could be to put it back to around 40$. Then everybody will be happy. THEY (those controlling the gas prices. Whoever they may be) will make more money.
Customers will be happy because of the price cut.

So that person on tv (a comedian by the way) said that this looked like the perfect technique to go from 32$ to 40$ without creating too many waves <g>



>Oil prices are out of this world and some corporations and governments are reaping huge windfall profits.
>
>I'm no good at searching Google, but my simple attempt suggested to me that the basic price is set by the New York Mercantile Exchange - NOT the producing countries or OPEC (they control production, which can only indirectly affect the price).
>
>Theoretically the price is governed by the "law of supply and demand". And there seems no doubt that China and India have had unparalleled growth in their demand for oil in very recent times.
>
>But the California "energy crisis" - that was not a crisis at all but a situation totally created by Enron and their pals - keeps coming to my mind.
>
>My guess is that, to understand this alleged crisis and learn if it really is one or not, we need to know WHO SETS THE PRICE OF OIL. by "WHO" I mean, of course, who do these people (who set the price) really work FOR? Do they work for oil companies, who actually do a whole lot of drilling/oil production? Has OPEC infiltrated the select group? WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?
>
>Several years ago now the major oil companies in the U.S. "consolidated", meaning that they bought up smaller companies and closed refineries that were in proximity to each other. This, of course, greatly diminished production capacities. particularly when there was a shortage (instead of running at an average of 50%-60% capacity those left now run at 90%+ capacity, leaving no margin for shortages).
>
>That China and India need more oil is mainly the result of manufacturing moving to those countries, so there SHOULD be a corresponding decrease in requirements in those places where the manufacturing USED TO BE.
>
>The whole thing has the same smell as the California "energy crisis" and it would be real nice to be able to be sure that the problem is real and not manufactured.
>
>cheers