Go back, read again. I didn't say it would. Perhaps that is what you wanted it to say?

At any rate, what I did say is that bringing additional product to market would not serve to put upward pressure on prices.

I think that is something we could both find agreeable.

This is a true statement.

Want lower gas prices? Strengthen the dollar. How do you strengthen the dollar. Raise overnight rates above zero. Yet we can't. Why? Because we would then be unable to service our debt.

That leaves us with a choice. Do we want all of our schnazzy federal government services, foreign wars, and corporate bailouts,....... or cheap gas?

Wasn't really telling you...was more commenting on all the pro-pipeline stuff I see on TV and elsewhere, about how it will be so great for the American consumer...if it was supposed to be great for the American consumer, then the pipeline would end in Fargo at a refinery, not at a port where the oil is being sent overseas.

Fish on...

Todd

Kill your TV, it rots your brain.

We are constantly being sold a bill of goods.

I remember seeing that the invasion and occupation of Iraq was supposed to be good for the Iraqi people. I'd challenge anyone who thought so to go door to door in Baghdad and start asking the locals if that was their take on the situation.

My larger point is what's the purpose of fighting the pipeline in the first place? If it brings more energy to the market and helps meet additional demand that helps to stabalize, if not lower prices, than what is the problem? Unless your goal is actually to raise the price of oil to the point where alternatives are now economically viable. If that's the case then just come on out and say it, why play games?

Whether it's sold domestically or internationally is a mute point. What are we going to do, subsidize it and mandate the oil companies sell it domestically? There's still a cost there.

Why play games? Because it’s what the shaitstains do. When Obama was running he blamed Bush for gas at about $4.00 a gallon. Now he is getting blamed by the Rs. In both cases they were being disingenuous and they knew it.

Like Romney bragging about how he balanced the budget for four years. And the salamander again telling the lie that he did the same whne he was the speaker. They lie like rugs. All of them. The thing is that you have to pick the liar whose overall philosophy most closely matches yours as they do actually fulfill some of their promises.

I agree and just wanted to add this...

Forbes - Gasoline Prices are Not Rising, the Dollar is Falling

All ya gotta do is jawbone opec to lower the prices. Any idiot knows that.

How Fed Policy Is Sticking It To The Average Consumer

What I can't understand is how more oil drilling will improve prices when we (the USA) are a net oil exporter - in other words, the amount of oil we export is more than we import. Certainly the value of the dollar is part of the story, as is speculation in the futures market. But most importantly, oil is a world commodity and anything we do in the US has small impact on the price. The supply and demand formula really does not apply to this commodity. What does apply is the principle of pricing at the highest possible point that the market will bear.

I agree, Eddie...if we were to improve our production by 30%, we'd just have 30% more to sell at the same price...

Fish on...

Todd

Prices are increasing continuously so it is difficult to gain profit.

Gotta sell that oil out of country, that's the only way the US can even
make a dent in the balance of trade numbers.
Buy Chinese!!

This is actually of an example of supply and demand in action, if people in other countries have a higher demand than we do as evidenced by them paying higher prices for it, then we will export to them. That's a classic example of supply and demand.

Why people get their panties all in a bunch over oil exports, I don't even know. We import oil from countries willing to sell it cheaply and we export it to countries willing to pay dearly. That's called a win-win.

Just because the price of gas along with everything else, is shooting up because of inflation, doesn't have anything to do with how much oil we export. For those who say that if we kept that oil here, it would drive prices down, it wouldn't because you can't heap up commodities any more than you can any other fluid. It's going to leak to where it wants to go anyway.

Plus most of our exports are to CANADA who also is the largest importer of oil to us. Because of the logistics of shipping, it's cheaper for somebody in Alberta to buy oil from Montana and North Dakota than it is to ship it all the way from Qubec. Likewise, it is cheaper for somebody in Maine to ship that Qubeccer's oil down the river than it is to ship it from North Dakota. In fact, prices would go UP because of shipping if we quit importing/exporting to Canada. The invisible hand of market finds the cheapest path, in order for you to allocate goods better than the free market, you would need to know more than everybody else put together. But since nobody knows more than everybody, this is impossible, so people should just STFU and let the market handle it.

If you look into the facts, you will see that it isn't the oil exports that are causing the price increase. But facts get in the way of people who want to flap their mouth about economic issues despite not knowing a single thing about economics.

Futures contracts are a legitimate way for business to hedge the cost of commodities they consume or produce to stabilize prices. This is why you can buy an airline ticket six months out because the airline knows how much gas will cost then because they have a futures contract on it. When oil futures go up in price, they are predicting that the price of oil will be higher in the future, they are not causing the price increase. Your article has cause and effect backwards. Seems like you know as much about this topic as you do about everything else, not a damn thing.

Big banks are not gambling their money on oil futures, in fact, the "real" price of oil will decline if the economy declines. There is no safe place to put your money to hide it from inflation. Inflation is a beast that robs us all and the only beneficiary is big government. They print the dollars, they spend them as a way to continue their out of control spending without having to borrow or raise taxes.

Did you also notice that most every other commodity also has higher prices? Milk is double what it used to be, so is bread. Is the milk and bread futures causing that or perhaps there is a common cause raising all commodities?

The artical states there is no cause and effect anymore. As usual you are an idiot. Want to talk about dividends again?

"­As in all cases, Wall Street heard the word "bet" and flocked to futures, taking the market to strange new places on the fringe of legality. In the 19th and early 20th centuries it bet on grain. In the 21st century it was oil. Despite U.S. petroleum reserves being at an eight-year high, the price of oil rose dramatically beginning in 2006. While demand rose, supply kept pace. Yet, prices still skyrocketed. This means that the laws of supply and demand no longer applied in the oil markets. Instead, an artificial market developed.

Artificial markets are volatile; they're difficult to predict and can turn on a dime. As a result of the artificial oil market, the average price per barrel of crude oil increased from $31.61 in July 2004 to $137.11 in July 2008 [source: DOE]. The average cost for a gallon of regular unleaded gas in the United States grew from $1.93 to $4.09 over the same period [source: DOE]."

The article is full of $hit just like you are. There is nothing artificial about futures markets. They are more volatile because they represent people's opinion of the future price which can change because current events have an effect on the future. It's changeable. In any case volatility doesn't cause prices to rise, it works both ways, it just makes the peaks higher and the bottom lower, it doesn't change the long term trend.

There is no mechanism for futures in and of themselves to raise prices. Explain how this is even possible.

Also, wall street is not betting on futures in large numbers.

You can't even spell article, much less comprehend how futures work and your supposed article is just a bunch of unproven assertions. It is a waste of time even arguing with you because you are so stupid and can't understand basic facts that everything flies over your head.

Here is my argument:

Oil is traded in dollars, and its price therefore rises when the value of the dollar falls, all else being equal. The value of the dollar is falling due to federal government policies, the motive for which is easy credit to help the stock market and real estate market rise as well as give the government more money to spend.

Here is your argument:

You don't know how futures work, but you heard about them and they sound scary therefore they must be causing a rise in the price of oil.

So before you post any more stupid pointless drivel, explain how futures in and of themselves cause the price to rise and then explain how the falling dollar isn't causing the price of oil to rise.

You can't because you are a moron, so pack up your $hit and go home. The big boys are talking here.

If a spot price is no longer based upon the commodity, in this case a barrel of oil, than it most certainly is an artificial market.

"just a bunch of unproven assertions."

What you live and breath by. I have a hard time believing you make sense to yourself. But if you do you should see someone.

The spot price is based upon the commodity, the futures contracts are based on peoples opinion of what the future price of the commodity will be.

If you want to be part of the conversation, please answer my questions, don't just ignore them because you are wrong and can't answer them.

You made a stupid claim, now man up and back it up or STFU.

C'mon, explain how futures in and of themselves raise the price.

"Here is my argument:

Oil is traded in dollars, and its price therefore rises when the value of the dollar falls, all else being equal. The value of the dollar is falling due to federal government policies, the motive for which is easy credit to help the stock market and real estate market rise as well as give the government more money to spend."

Hey douce bag tell us all how the dollar is falling. Which currency are you pulling out of your [Bleeeeep!] for comparison? Yeah that's what I thought. What an idiot!