QOTD: How Will Isaac (Not Mizrahi) Affect Gas Prices
On occassion, I’ll use the Question of the Day feature as a tool to draw on the collective knowledge of the B&B to learn something; today I’m asking your your input on Tropical Storm (Hurricane?) Isaac.
With refineries and drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico closing down, the potential for a spike in gas prices is something that can’t be ignored. J alopnik notes that gas prices went up $1.30/gallon in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and 60 cents/gallon in the wake of Hurricane Ike. Gas prices have been up lately, and they don’t like to come down as quickly as they rise.
A prolonged spike in gas prices won’t do any favors for auto sales, but I’m interested to see how the upward trend in gas prices will affect the 145 day supplies of the GMC Sierra and 137 day supply of the Chevrolet Silverado (as of August 1st).
More by Derek Kreindler
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The price of gas is already up and will rise nationally to $5-$6, with $7-$10 in the usual local hotspots. There will be big bargains on Sierras and Silverados this Fall. The new model intros will be a disaster, car company profits will evaporate, and airline fares will skyrocket, with a crash in passenger volumes causing airports to close. The high cost of fuel will cause a further spike in food, putting people in an ugly mood, with demonstrations, angry confrontations and violent riots from coast to coast, with martial law imposed nationally, and the social fabric of America torn asunder. Or not.
As expected, Big Oil will use the storm, like anything else it can, to jack prices. And right now, this storm is a Republican's best friend. Because expensive gas will be hung on Obama, high prices now until November is like pouring unregulated dollars into the political machine. Wait, I forgot that the Roberts-Scalitomas Court made that legal. Anyway, the oil companies want Obama out so the Drill baby Drill folks will help pave the way for even more record profits. Once Obama loses, fuel prices will drop assuming a real, honest disaster does not happen. There was no reason for the bump in oil prices in June or July other than political reasons....
Strange, here in Australia they are predicting lower fuel prices. The reasons given were: lower demand in the US would result in a surplus for the rest of the world. But with prices in Australia set by the price of refined fuel in Singapore, we will probally not see much of any change. And with Caltex planning to shut down it's most profitable refinery in Sydney (Kurnell) and most other smaller refineries in Australia closing we will be at the mercy of the speculators even more :(
If only someone could figure out a way to refine the grease that drips off the cast of Jersey Shore, America could once again be energy independent.