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Isn't it strange how gas prices always drop precipitously right before presidential elections? I'm not the type to believe in conspiracy theories but its pretty clear that OPEC and the refining industry know that its a good idea to get out of the way of presidential politics.
I'm sure some hardcore Republicans will take this as a sign of the success of GOP policies or the surge or an affirmation of the initial invasion of Iraq or something else ridiculous but $3 gasoline isn't going to overshadow the credit crisis anytime soon.
I saw $2.92 at the Allsups on Zuni near Louisiana this morning btw.
Its probably worth noting that one of the driving factors for the plunge in oil prices is that speculators now expect the economic downturn to be so severe that it will drastically decrease the demand for gasoline and diesel.
Frankly I'd prefer to pay $4/gallon with a growing economy.
It isn't that demand has decreased. It is that the Saudi stock market is crashing too. The Saudis are pulling back on prices trying to gooch GROWTH of demand which has stalled because of high prices coupled with low wages and the housing bubble burst. The idea of continuous growth is unsustainable.
The Saudis & other oil producing nations have control over prices only insofar as they control the amount of oil they put on the market. The "Saudi Stock Market" has nothing to do with it. Oil is a fungible asset and the only non-supply and demand factor in its pricing is price speculation. Speculators drove it up because they though demand would be going through the roof. Now they're driving it down because they think demand is going to drop significantly due to the possible global recession.
Commenting by HaloScan
