Archive for the ‘oil’ Category

If you're one of the 33.2 million Americans planning to drive to grandma's, the in-laws, or the local outlet mall this Thanksgiving/Black Friday holiday, be prepared for three things: lots of traffic, lewd postprandial stories from Uncle Ted, and unpleasant numbers at the pump. Gas prices have ticked down a couple of cents in recent weeks, but at roughly $2.64 per gallon, they're far above last Thanksgiving's $1.92 average. And unfortunately, because oil is traded in increasingly weaker U.S. dollars, crude prices (and subsequently gas prices) will move increasingly higher over the winter. So, um, happy holidays? [USAToday]

It's no secret that the price of oil--and subsequently, gasoline--has a profound effect on the types of vehicles consumers want. When per-barrel prices hit $145 last summer and gas was over $4 per gallon, folks finally paid attention to all those minicars they'd been hearing about. Now that oil is less than half that, SUVs are on everyone's mind. In light of such volatility, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is looking to stabilize things by limiting speculative trading in oil and other energy commodities. It won't make everyone happy, but until elected officials get on the gas tax bandwagon, it may be the best we get. [NYTimes]

Gas prices have crept up over the past few months, and while experts don't expect things to reach last summer's $4+ per gallon unpleasantness, prices will likely go well beyond their current $2.40-ish average. That's partially because of summer, when prices surge thanks to higher demand and more expensive fuel blends. However, in this case, it's also because OPEC isn't planning to boost production until oil hits $100 per barrel.

Right now, oil is hovering around $70 a barrel--in fact, yesterday marked the first time that the price crossed the $71 threshold in almost a year. Curiously, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmed al-Abdullah al-Sabah...