So, gas prices up a nickel/gal here this week. Yet oil prices tumble.

[deminks]

Pourquoi? Good question. One last mega gouge before the oil/gas free ride goes bye-bye? Message to public - no gas for you until the black man goes? Lots of spin going on. Excuses du jour - flooding in Louisiana, tight pipes (no kidding) (http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20110512/BUSINESS/105120333/0/SPORTS02/?odyssey=nav|head,) lower demand, higher demand, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. I vote for gouging, IMHO, cause they can't keep their spin spinning.

[SpiralHawk]

1. "Smirk." - RepubliCorp Oil Cronies, Inc. (R)

[liberal N proud]

2. This gouge is on speculation that the Mississippi flood may take out refineries

Or so we are told by the talking heads.

Alon Refinery Will Shut If Spillway Opens, Jindal Says

Alon Refinery Will Shut If Spillway Opens, Jindal Says
By Leela Landress - May 11, 2011 8:36 PM ET
inShare.1More
Business ExchangeBuzz up!DiggPrint Email .Alon USA Energy Inc. (ALJ)’s Krotz Springs refinery will be shut if the Morganza spillway is opened to relieve flood pressure on the Mississippi River, said Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is beginning the work needed to open the spillway, Jindal said during a press conference in Baton Rouge. The decision on whether to the spillway would be made by the Corps.

When the river’s flow reaches 1.5 million cubic feet per second at Louisiana’s Red River Landing, the Corps will open the spillway and send a torrent of water down the Atchafalaya River basin for the first time since 1973, said Jindal. The flow is at 1.36 million cubic feet per second now, he said.

Alon is completing a plan to build an extra levee to supplement the levees on the Krotz Springs refinery’s north and east sides, the company said today in a statement. The refinery, on the west bank of the Atchafalaya, can process 83,000 barrels a day of crude oil, according to the statement.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-11/alon-refinery-will-shut-if-morganza-spillway-opens-jindal-says.html

[notesdev]

3. You want a good scare?

Take a look at a 5-year price chart. We are repeating a pattern...

[ixion]

4. queue apologists in 3...2...1

[Art_from_Ark]

5. Queue-- line up

Cue-- Give the signal to

At any rate, I am not an apologist, but there is this little matter of huge floodwaters making their way down the Mississippi River to refineries in Louisiana that might have something to do with the price of gasoline.

[ixion]

8. it's funny

apologists always attach the messenger. Always. Without fail. This is their way of distracting from the message.

Gas prices were sky rocketing long before the flood. It has nothing whatsoever to do with so-called 'market pressures'.

[Art_from_Ark]

9. I'm not an apologist and I'm not attacking you

I have no investment in the oil industry and in all likelihood never will have. I just want you to be aware of the difference in meaning based on the spellings of the words, OK? As someone who has made a living with the English language, as a teacher and writer, this has been of special concern for me.

As for rising gas prices, what have we had this year? Several revolts in the Middle East, earthquakes and tsunamis disabling several Japanese refineries, now flooding on the Mississippi that threatens refineries that provide 10% of the gasoline in the United States. On top of that, China and India are aggressively seeking sources of petroleum. Do you honestly believe that these events would have no impact on the price of gasoline, and that there are no "market pressures"?

[jberryhill]

12. That's what the apologists say every time

C'mon. Admit it.

[ixion]

15. okay, a couple things....

I know the difference, and I don't mind the correction. Fair enough.

I didn't say that there were no market pressures, just that the didn't justify the price. Speculation is what has caused the price spike, in my opinion.

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. edit: sorry, I hadn't read your later post (nt)

[ChairmanAgnostic]

6. gas prices have NOTHING to do with oil prices.

One is a finished product, priced to maximize how much they can remove from your wallet, especially on weekends and holidays. The other is simply a scam - bidding on futures by computerized trading programs, intent on getting the little guy to gamble his own money in the futures, at which point the computerized trading program robs you blind.

[badtoworse]

11. "Little guys" have no business trading commodities unless they have substantial risk capital

If losing your investment is going to alter your lifestyle, you really shouldn't be doing it.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

14. great advice.

that is so true.

[Shagbark Hickory]

7. Oil prices are NOT tumbling!

You're misinformed.

[hifiguy]

10. Purely the result of speculative bubbles driven by the vampire squid

and the others of its ilk. Suck the last dime out of the populace before they revolt or start to die off.

[DemocracyInaction]

13. If a camel farts ...

..Wall Street hears it and screams "this is why oil companies have to jack up prices". Actually, they haven't trotted out the "oil refinery fire" yet this round------damn, now where did they put those matches...........

[B Calm]

17. Oil speculators on Wall Street are fearing refineries being flooded

along the Mississippi. Of course none of them are having any problems, but speculators know better.