$4 A Gallon: National Gas Price Average Reaches Record

NEW YORK — Drivers are paying an average of $4 for a gallon of gasoline for the first time. AAA and the Oil Price Information Service say the national average price for a gallon of regular gas rose to $4.005 overnight from $3.988. But consumers in many parts of the country have already been paying well above that price for some time.

Gas is expected to keep climbing, putting greater pressure on consumers and businesses, because the price of oil is soaring in futures markets. Light, sweet crude shot up nearly $11 a barrel Friday and approached $140 for the first time.

Along with higher fuel costs, consumers are also contending with higher prices for food and other goods because of rising transportation costs.

Comments

[CostaMesaJoe]

Hey alright!! Life is looking pretty good right now!!
Hannity and Rush are right.
We need four more years of Republican rule!!

(Sarcasm off)


D*ckheads.

[Durango]

And OPEC keeps saying there are no market fundementals to account for the rise.

Another way of saying SPECULATORS!!!!

Here is what I would like to know.

Who is buying the oil from whom? Does Exxon buy from Saudi Arabia? If not, why not.

Does Exxon buy from speculators? Why would they do that? Why not buy from the producers. Why is there any middle man in the trading at all?

Generally, when we used to hear about rising oil prices it was from the futures market. What market are they quoting from now? If not the futures market is it the spot market?

Isn't the futures market simply a bet on the future price of oil? Or are contracts made at those prices. In which case wouldn't the oil being delivered now have been contracted for far in the past and consequently be cheaper than the announced high?

There is so much that doesn't get reported concerning the oil market it is simply unbelieveable.

[beekeeper]

ANOTHER way of saying ENRON criminals

[chendri887]

Why is it legal for people to speculate on the most basic of essentials for survival, such as food and energy? Is this really the best we can do?

[blueshield]

It is legal precisely because the Republican Congress and Administrations have gutted and de-clawed the regulatory and oversight agencies of the Federal Government responsible for preventing and enforcing such behaviors.

Make no mistake (check Sen. Gramm) this was deliberate and intentional.

The big laugh on Wall Street is this is the Big Hurrah, the chance to reap as much as possible. And beware, the speculators are right now moving into food and farm land.

[twgbonehead]

Exxon pumps the oil, in Saudi Arabia, Texas and the Mexican Gulf. They operate the tankers and refineries, and the delivery trucks. They either own or franchise (with extreme control) all the Exxon and Mobil gas stations. (The "independent" operators MUST buy their gas from Exxon/Mobil)

That's why they need to raise the price of gas whenever the oil "market" goes up - because they can.

[kdubbg]

I don't think this story is entirely accurate. It states that gas in Connecticut is the second highest in the country but in Lee Vining California right now, regular gas is selling for $5.29/gal. And the cheapest gas in the state is $4.24. Whereas the highest gas in CT is $4.89 and the cheapest is $4.11

Of course nothing beats the 5.98 they're paying for gas in Bethel Alaska.

Gasbuddy.com

[kitfox]

hey kdbug, i'm in the bay area (CA) and this morning I paid $4.59 (and that was at a cheap gas station), we've been over $4 a gallon for the last month! The lowest I have seen has been $4.17 but that was about two weeks ago.

[HumeSkeptic]

To their credit, Time magazine predicted this long time ago:

http://hubpages.com/hub/TIME_MAGAZINE_COVER

[biglover]

When George Bush took office gas prices were approximately $1.50 a gallon

http://archives.cnn.com/2001/fyi/news/04/18/summer.gas/index.html

[SharonB]

Tell me again, my friend, why you need a Hummer or suv????

Can anyone tell me why that I never see more than ONE person in the hummers and suv's that I see driving all over town?????

Status symbol? Not to me.

[VolvoBirkenstock]

Status symbol to the Hyacinth Buckets of the world.

They know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

All that matters is impressing the Barker-Finches at No. 17

[Mercedes]

There's BILLIONS of barrels of OIL in North Dakota. This just came out on the Main Stream Media this past weekend. Why can't we stop buying the OIL from OPEC, Venezuela, Mexico, or whatever country we get it from now, and use our own OIL???

[graffen48]

Why can't we invest a little more money in finding solutions that don't involve oil??

[BabsfromKS]

oh yeah...lik­e ethanol! Now, that was fun!

[KillTheMessenger]

Go get a shovel. You can dig for it, but you can't pump it. That's a MAJOR headache.

[BabsfromKS]

Ha!

[BlueStateMan]

Because the oil is trapped in shale & sand deposits & is prohibitively expensive to retrieve..­.. not to mention that the environmental impact of such an operation would be devestating beyond ANYTHING that we've seen to date.

One of the biggest reasons the big 5 oil producers are jacking up the price these days (market speculation is a MINOR reason) is to make the retrieval of these deposits economically viable.

[williamg]

Let's do the math.

Say that there is 4 billion in reserves in North Dakota. The United States uses about 20 million barrels a day.

That would give us a 200 day supply.

Then what?

[TxAggie]

No it would not be a 200 day supply- it would take years to produce safely produce the reserves over time to prevent reservoir damage. That production combined with new production from the gulf, Alaska, Offshore California (where there are Billions of bbls of proved reserves) the other shale plays, offshore Florida and all the other damn places we should be drilling would make a hell of an impact on the imported nos and would leave the money right here in the good old USA.

[957]

Because your congress passed laws the tree huggers wanted restricting us from drilling on land or off shore and all this was done under the republicans watch, we should be calling for them to cancel those laws and let us drill in the artic or in north dakota or off shore in florida were there is untold gallons of crude waiting, but no we can't drill there...wh­y?

[BlueStateMan]

You have NO idea how oil is retrieved, do you?

Read a book, ferchrissakes.

[blueshield]

Whoa, back up. The Bakken play is BEING pumped today, with total deposits estimated at 200 to 300 billion barrels, and a recent USGS assessment that with TODAY's technology, 3 to 4 billion barrels are recoverable. This number is climbing by leaps and bounds because the industry has just introduced new lateral drilling techniques to exploit this unusually narrow deposit.

This is just an example of accessible US oil, no environmental restrictions. It's a con to pretend the problem is "tree-huggers".

[HumeSkeptic]

Put some numbers down and see if how much all that drilling adds up to as a percentage of our total consumption at the time that that oil would become available. Do the math. That's your homework. Then weigh that against environmental damage that that would cause.

[Economike]

Tree hugger? You don't have to try so hard to prove your a neanderthal it obvious.

[maxdenn]

A computer and television in every room. Now that'll save energy. America might claim the distinction of the most spoiled nation in history. Perhaps instead of giving your kids tv's, computers and cell phones, give them books.

[andvoodoo2]

My kids have books AND electronics. But, my kid's computer has more info on hand than ALL of your kid's books.

[nyquist27]

yeah but they probably just hang out on forums arguing with people

[graffen48]

Hey, don't rag on computers too much. It's one of the only forms of free expression we still have left.

[The Hedonistic Pleasureseeker]

For now. Internet companies are talking about going the way of cable, paying for "packages" of sites you're "allowed" to access. The Powers that Be only want us to be able to access sites like AOL and EBay. Bottom line: The Blogs ruined all their NeoCon fun and they're gonna git us back.

Computer dweebs: Find a bypass or an alternative to government suppression and you WILL be RICH . . .

[chendri887]

Hello, American government. It's we, the people who elected you. Um, you might not have noticed, but while you were busy playing the role of the 19th century gentleman in Congress, politely debating on the floor and then shaking hands afterwards, or creating the next piece meaningless legislation to honor Bret Favre, we, the people who elected you, are dying. You see, after the long, progressive fight to create labor unions, public infrastructure, civil rights, environmentalism, and a mild unifying civil religion that came to fruition under the presidencies of FDR, Truman, Kennedy and Johnson, you have spent the last forty years allowing yourself to be bullied by right-wing zealots and Confederates. And we, the people who elected you, have been beaten and battered and bullied by them too. Unfortunately, some of us are into that S&M-type government and will vote for these nutbags no matter how much they beat us down. But hey, if you want this country to stick around much longer, you'd better fight back. You'd better understand where the middle class came from, and help us survive. Otherwise, I'm sorry to say, this whole thing will implode quite quickly. Sorry to interrupt your "important man work" there on the Hill. Now, you can get back to debating where to build the George W. Bush library.

[graffen48]

Or the Dick Cheney memorial freeway ....

[KillTheMessenger]

Which paragraph in the US constitution guarantees your right to cheap oil?

[chendri887]

I want the markets to be better regulated. Hasn't it gone well beyond cheap oil though? I feel that the US government has taken a radically hands off approach to everything since the Reagan years. As a result, we have a consumption-based economy that is purely based on gambling and speculation. In addition, the entire infrastructure of the country is in serious need of upgrade. From what I can see, the last time that was done was in the decades after World War II, when American liberalism of the modern economic type was at its strongest.

[Durango]

That part that says you are not allowed to form monopolies. Or engage in restraint of trade.

[timeforachangenow]

here here...8)

Very NICELY put!

do ya think they will listen....­.NOT...8(

but keep trying anyway...j­ust MAYBE...8)

[PhillyJack]

I sure hope the Obama camp puts some really aggressive and outspoken economic surrogates out in the MSM because so far the ones I have seen are way too passive compared to the Republicans.

I just saw one lady on Blitzer's program and she was lying through her teeth without any opposition by the Obama fellow. Come on!!! You can't let a McCain person say they will reduce spending when in fact they intend to stay in Iraq for decades. You can't let McCain slide on the fact that his tax breaks will not benefit the middle class... you have to talk about the fact that seniors making less than 50K wont pay taxes, etc... and you have to be able to tell people that their capital gains taxes are not going any higher than they were in the 90s, when we were pretty darn prosperous.

We have to contrast the myth that somehow taxing the richest is going to make the economy crash. We have to oppose the lies that Obama is trying to resolve a recession by increasing taxes. You can't just roll over like that Obama people.... get some folks on message!!! Get some role playing done for these folks, and give them a shot of adrenalin!

[maxdenn]

Do you imagine that all of the thousands of Americans who own oil stocks are displeased with the price of a gallon of gasoline?

[andvoodoo2]

No, but the MILLIONS of Americans who don't own oil stocks are beyond displeased.

[BlueStateMan]

Nice to see that you're so civic minded.

[HumeSkeptic]

My friends, you are screwed. :-)

[VolvoBirkenstock]

...and it will be painful.

Vaseline is petroleum based.

[HumeSkeptic]

You forgot to put a smily face at the end.

[maxdenn]

In terms of the price of oil, and air pollution, we have met the enemy. And it's us.

[TurgidCaterwauling]

Pretty much the message in this nation is "If you weren't born rich or you weren't smart enough or clever enough to get rich, too damn bad." It really makes no difference to me where the blame lies, I am most concerned with the moral dimensions of the problem. We have reached a point where lust for power and greed are essentially pornographic.

[maxdenn]

How long has America had its love affair with suv's, rv's, huge houses, and multi car families?