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[JzeroT1437]

http://economy.kansascity.com/?q=node/700

Oh, oh. Oil prices up some more

Oil prices nudged past $50 per barrel Tuesday morning which will put more pressure on gas prices to rise at your local station.

The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate oil, the U.S. benchmark, was up $1.49 per barrel in early trading to $50.30 on the New York Mercantile Exchange furthering momentum to the rising cost of the commodity which is up 25 percent from late December.

Gas prices in the Kansas City area are already up about 15-cents per gallon from their lows in December. But an increase Monday of about $2.50 per barrel in oil prices along with an increase in wholesale gas prices of roughly 6-cents per gallon so far appear to have had little affect on area retail prices.

That could change soon.

The price was $1.52 per gallon at several stations on the Missouri side of the Kansas City market early Tuesday morning and a few cents higher on the Kansas side reflecting in part a difference in fuel taxes.

The rise in oil prices is being blamed in part on the Gaza conflict which could disrupt oil supplies if it spreads. OPEC has also started to implement promised production cuts although it’s too early to say if the production quotas will stick.

A dollar’s worth of crude oil generally contributes 2.5 cents to the price of each gallon of gasoline so the cost of oil is obviously important to what you pay at the pump.

But there’s another shoe yet to drop which would also force gas prices up. Some refiners have tried to reduce production to improve profits for gasoline which have been mostly low or non-existent in recent months.

So far, they’ve had little success in improving those profit margins. But that could change especially as we approach spring when demand for gasoline typically rises.

Guess those idiots who immediately went back to buying SUVs are going to be in trouble when it becomes more apparent that the oil companies have become much more ardent in their quest for the money.

It's up to $1.99/gal for Unleaded here in Huntington, WV.

 

[Deleted member 20415]

I love it... fears that it will spread.

Has it spread? No. So why should prices go back up? Screw you all!

 

[Gallbaro]

Rise back from the dead my friend, come back high gas prices and I will welcome you.

 

[BlueTsunami]

If prices start to steadily rise now, the crest will come just in time for travel season! Someone give Joe Planner at OPEC a raise. Hopefully it'll stay relatively low throughout the cold season.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

The cheap gas party is over (again!). Guess I should still be happy I got rid of my SUV.

 

[Kagari]

Gas is $1.80 here in central IN... $1.49 for me though! Yay for E85.

 

[CharlieDigital]

Sometimes I wonder if there's a big conspiracy going on in the Middle East.

Who has huge oil reserves? Iran does.

Who funds/supports/trains Hamas? Iran does.

Who stands to gain from instability in the Middle East? Iran (well, all of OPEC) does as oil prices rise.

I mean, it can't be coincidence that oil prices have bottomed out recently and many countries which spent lavishly in the oil boom are now looking at shortfalls in projected profit? I dunno...I really wonder if the Palestinian civilians are really just pawns used by the oil rich nations to cause conflict and instability in the region on demand. One can imagine the leaders of OPEC conspiring to "greenlight" the launching of rockets to destabilize the region.

 

[{Mike}]

Glad I filled many tanks at 75 cents / L and stored them in my trunk just in case

 

[Tamanon]

Sometimes I wonder if there's a big conspiracy going on in the Middle East.

Who has huge oil reserves? Iran does.

Who funds/supports/trains Hamas? Iran does.

Who stands to gain from instability in the Middle East? Iran (well, all of OPEC) does as oil prices rise.

I mean, it can't be coincidence that oil prices have bottomed out recently and many countries which spent lavishly in the oil boom are now looking at shortfalls in projected profit? I dunno...I really wonder if the Palestinian civilians are really just pawns used by the oil rich nations to cause conflict and instability in the region on demand. One can imagine the leaders of OPEC conspiring to "greenlight" the launching of rockets to destabilize the region.

Nah, otherwise Hamas would've escalated the conflict. Israel was the one who escalated it.

 

[Like the hat?]

gas at a local station was $1.59 a gallon when i got to work last weds.
gas at that same station was $1.89 when i was on my way home that same day.

it's been there since.

i should fill up today.

 

[CharlieDigital]

What gets me is where these organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah get money for their operations. It's not exactly like the Middle East is bursting with commerce and trade aside from oil (and pistachios?). Rockets, RPGs, AK's, and ammunition: this shit ain't cheap (especially with the price of metals nowadays). Why don't the financiers of these operations build schools and hospitals instead? Why not invest in the people instead? Unemployment in Gaza is somewhere north of 40% and around 24% in the West Bank. I dunno...definitely conspiracy theory, but I really have to wonder if the leaders of these groups aren't really just in it for the money and if they're not really acting on behalf of/funded by OPEC nations.

 

[Tamanon]

What gets me is where these organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah get money for their operations. It's not exactly like the Middle East is bursting with commerce and trade aside from oil (and pistachios?). Rockets, RPGs, AK's, and ammunition: this shit ain't cheap (especially with the price of metals nowadays). Why don't the financiers of these operations build schools and hospitals instead? Why not invest in the people instead? Unemployment in Gaza is somewhere north of 40% and around 24% in the West Bank. I dunno...definitely conspiracy theory, but I really have to wonder if the leaders of these groups aren't really just in it for the money and if they're not really acting on behalf of/funded by OPEC nations.

I dunno, but the arms trade isn't just a Middle East thing

Iran supports Hamas because it gets them goodwill and it's an organization that fights Israel. It's basically the same reason we supported the Taliban.

 

[CharlieDigital]

I dunno, but the arms trade isn't just a Middle East thing

Iran supports Hamas because it gets them goodwill and it's an organization that fights Israel. It's basically the same reason we supported the Taliban.

Yah, I'm not saying arms trade is a ME thing, I'm just pointing out that weapons and ammo are expensive as all hell. Way better ways to spend that money than to buy arms and ammo.

 

[aparisi2274]

I just paid $1.37 the other day in NJ.