Capitol Hill Blue Forums Political Issues Finance, the economy & Economics Where is the $200 oil???

It wasn't long ago that quite a few members of this community were predicting $200 oil futures. What happened to all that talk?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12400801/


With global economy heading towards a severe downturn... maybe even a depression, I guess price of oil will remain well blow $200.

My hope is that Americans actually remember the lessons of this past summer and don't flock back to the heavy duty trucks and SUVs.

The goal still remains to promote alternative fuels and get off our dependence on oil.

This spike in oil was fueled by speculation and not by lack of supply. Maybe the next one will actually be supply driven.

If not the next one, then soon...it's only a matter of time. Unless, of course, you happen to believe in the Abiotic Oil theory.

Drill, baby, drill!!!

$200/bbl for oil makes real good sense if speculators were driving the market. the fundamentals just as oil companies stated did not justify the high cost. with the threat of Congress doing something about speculators within 2 months the price has gone down.

how do conservatives support that kind of gross screwing of the American public????

To prove this I have been trying to collect data which I believe should verify speculators as the culprits (yikes free marketeers doing what they do ... raping and pillaging to make a buck)

Do you recall how gas prices fell just before the 2006 election and then sky rocketed afterwards?

I do.

If you are really wondering where that $200 a bbl oil is, I suggest you wait a couple of months and then check the wires. I predict, it AND the ultra high gas prices that will no doubt accompany it, will be upon us.

Hopefully, I will be wrong, but I doubt it.

Sorry, Boney guy, I don't recall that. And the data does not support your assertion. Especially looking back at other years.

Gas price chart - 72 months
Gas price list - going back to 1979

These data do not support the premise of a correlation between gas prices and election campaigns.

Speculation definitely had an influence on oil prices. Never-the less, we cannot exclude the influence of demand upon prices. The quote that you provide basically assets that a build up of oil inventories due to a reduced demand is currently driving prices down. If/when we return to a world wide growth economy, the likelihood is that we will also return to much higher oil prices.... unless of course the massive infusion of abiotic oil does finally materialize.