[Landshark]

Originally Posted by lhopp77

Any one with half a brain knows what factors bear on the price of gas and that the price is largely set by the oil futures trading on the WORLD market. Prices are not set by the government even though government annoucements and decisions can have a bearing on them.

For openers the futures traders are not driving the prices upward because of the world situation. The war between Israel/Lebanon appears to being resolved peacefully. The Iran issue has not heated up---sort of on low simmer at this point. The war in Iraq is largely a war between Islamic religious sects and is not threatening the world oil supply. The hurricane season has been a bust with no threat to gulf oil supplies or refining. The high price of oil has resulted in maximum worldwide oil drilling/pumping/exploration. (Some countries are having to wait as long as a year to get rigs for exploration/drilling) All of this impacts on the future traders bid prices for future oil production.

The results of this is that the worldwide price of oil has gone down over $22 per barrel over the last 2 months.

Closer to home in the US. The peak driving season is over with the start of school. The high price of gas has changed some peoples driving habits (read reduction). The sales of SUVs went down drastically further reducing real or potential gas usage. Refining capacity has recovered after Katrina/Rita and with the slow hurricane season supplies are excellent.

The pure economic forces results of all of this is that SUPPLY EXCEEDS DEMAND----AND as any idiot knows, whenever supply exceeds demand----PRICES GO DOWN.

Now what is it you do not understand about basic economics that needs further explanation???

If the positive forces improve in the future---prices will go down further. IF the market forces get worse---the price will go back up.

"It is economics, stupid---not politics." LGH

Lee

thanks for clearing that up. i now see that Bush is only involved when something bad happens. if gas prices were on the rise, we could then attribute that to Bush's evil.