Gas prices 5/10/11

[Dare]

gas was $3.75 Tuesday morning and on Monday it was forecast
prices should level out for the rest of the summer.

Surprise gas rose 40 cents on Tuesday 70 $4.16.Did the rest
of the US members have the same experience.

Not to worry as of last Obama is investigating price gouging in the US

oil prices do what bombs and bullets can't,bring countries down

[Jericoke]

Gas prices spiked in Canada too.

Outside of OPEC, I'm pretty sure the USA has the lowest prices.

I know that Canada pays less than most European countries.

Every once in a while people bring up 'collusion', but it's tough to prove.  There are now only three major gas retailers in Canada:  Suncor, Imperial Oil and Shell.  All three are vertically integrated and supply the 'independant' retailers.

[Dare]

world gas prices as of 5/3/11

notice the high gas tax on a gallon of gas


http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/05/gas-prices-around-the-world-cheaper-than-water-i-and-i-10-a-gallon/238226/#slide4

[cosworth151]

It's a result of the "Enron Loophole." Passed in 2000, it exempts most over-the-counter energy trades and trading on electronic energy commodity markets from government regulation.

For example: In 2009, an energy broker on a drinking binge single handedly drove up world oil prices to an eight month high.

http://www.businessinsider.com/alcoholic-rogue-energy-trader-gets-five-year-ban-for-trying-to-corner-brent-crude-market-2010-6

Here in Lancaster, it dropped from $4.19 to $3.99, then jumped right back up to $4.09.

[Dare]

I think here they forgot to raise prices for the Kentucky Derby
last week and made up for it yesterday.

excerpt from article I read

should start:

1. Stop wildly fluctuating oil prices.
How can a barrel of oil cost $145.31 one day in 2008 and six months later cost $30.28? The answer is “oil speculation,” where traders on Wall Street bet on the future price of oil to make a quick buck. There are no limits on speculation, and the result has been gas prices increasing 133 percent since December 2008.

The commodities market needs discipline. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act can provide it. The law takes speculation out of the shadows by requiring the transactions to be completed in clearing houses and exchanges. That means speculators will trade in full view of Wall Street regulators, limiting their ability to cause wild fluctuations in the oil market and trigger high gas prices. And trading would be transparent for the American consumer — you and me.

The law’s regulations are currently being written through the Commodities Futures Trading Commission rule-making process.

Now the CFTC needs more federal support to curtail speculation. It’s one of the regulatory agencies targeted to have its workforce slashed by two-thirds in the Republicans’ 2012 budget. That’s just one reason why I voted against the budget as a member of the House Budget Committee. I’m not advocating for overregulation.

Reasonable oversight provides a check and balance.


Part of the big answer is speculatioin.It's no big secret,articles are written about
it,politicians comment on it,and then it's ignored like its some dirty secret.

We'd better wake up!It must be scarey being a young person in this
unpredictable world now

[David]

You guys don't know how lucky you are with fuel prices. Diesel here in the UK is around $11 a gallon!!

[Scott]

Filled up today - 1.87Sfr a litre.  Tank full cost me Sfr125.- (about the same in CDN$).  A bit cheaper than Ireland, but I bet about double what Darrell and Jeri pay.

[John S]

I had to buy deisel (gas oil) today and it cost me $10.60 a gallon and I got a relative bargain compared to David over in the Northern part of the Emerald Isle. You Guys in the Americas just don't know what the cost of driving really is.



 

[Dare]

For the most part[here anyway]public transportation sucks here and
wages seem to be a little higher across the pond.I can imagine how
hard it would be on a single mom making mininum wage here[around
$7.85 a hour here]payng over $4 for a gallon of gas,plus trying to pay
rent and eat too

[cosworth151]

Passenger rail last ran through my town in 1948. In fact, except for a narrow strip in the northern part of the state, and the city of Cincinnati, there is no passenger rail in the entire state of Ohio. The local buses here stopped running back in 1969. They were still using the original 1934 model Yellow Coach buses that replaced the street cars. Intercity bus service ended in the mid 1970's. There have been a few attempts to restart intercity bus service, mostly using vans. None have lasted even one year.

It's pretty much drive, walk or stay home.

[Dare]

Cos,does Greyhound bus uoerate in Lancaster?

[Scott]

I've been there (lived in a small town).  No question it just doesn't work.  Car or nothing.

Here in Switzerland, I have a train stop about 50ft from my front door, where a train in each direction stops every hour (on time - something you Brits can only dream about) from 5am until 1am.  I can go virtually anywhere in Europe from my front door.  I have a 1/2 price card (costs me $150 per year) which halves the cost of any train ticket in Switzerland and any adjoining country (as long as I buy the tickets in Switzerland before I leave).  One round trip to Rome or Berlin, or Paris and I've saved more than my card cost.  With the half price ticket, for example a ticket to Zurich is Sfr40.- each way.  It would cost me almost that much in gas if I drove, and the trip is at least 35min quicker by train if there is no traffic on the roads.  Basically we go by train unless we are doing big shopping, or if we go with the whole family (because then it's cheaper by car, and more flexible with the family in tow).

[Jericoke]

For the most part[here anyway]public transportation sucks here and
wages seem to be a little higher across the pond.I can imagine how
hard it would be on a single mom making mininum wage here[around
$7.85 a hour here]payng over $4 for a gallon of gas,plus trying to pay
rent and eat too

The province of Ontario has the same population as London, England, spread across an area 5 times larger than the entire UK.  It simply isn't possible to serve everyone with public transit. 

The majority of Canadians and Americans do not live in big cities, but rather small towns... or suburbs of big cities. 

[cosworth151]

I don't remember Greyhound ever coming through Lancaster. We used to have Lake Shore System, which connected with Greyhound in Columbus & Athens.

When I lived in NYC, the 125th & Broadway subway station was about 2 blocks from the back door of the building. I could quickly go anywhere in the city (except Staten Island) for a 65 cent token. by the time I left the city, it was up to 70 cents.

[Ian]

People moan over here, but we probably have the best and most comprehensive public transport system in the world.