Why has the price of gas / oil halved from peak prices?

I can't believe it's just demand. Which begs the question - why do we continue to allow price fixing?Why has the price of gas / oil halved from peak prices?
Two reasons that I know of.


1. Bush put an Executive Moratorium on the Environmental restrictions of our refineries. Before, most of the gasoline we produced was deemed too dirty to burn in the US by the Clinton Adm. (Al Gore)


2. He lifted the Executive Moratorium on offshore drilling.





Gas is cheap because we're swimming in crude right now and not buying as much from the Saudi's. Don't get used to it though. Obama has already publicly stated his intentions of reversing both these Executive Orders. Why has the price of gas / oil halved from peak prices?
there is no price fixing, its supply and demand along with futures expectations, the price of gas is crud +refining+transportation+retail+tax basically, exxon makes the same 6-7 cents per gallon it does today that it made last year and the 5 years before that and 10 years before that etc... same for everyone else with there 2-3 cents per gallon. the rest is the price of crude and 40+cents in government taxes per gallon and state/local taxes which goes from 15-30 cents per state





now your wondering why gas oil has dropped in price is because of future expectations with new drilling prospects and the fact that obama won the election and the stock markets been tanking ever since, its not just oil that dropped its everything else on the dow jones.





yeah so when gas at the pump goes down more this week, you can accuse the gas station people for fixing the stock market





Change since prev day close: 679.95 (7.70%)


Current value: 8,149.09


Previous day's close: 8,829.04
Competition between gas stations in different part of the country. I'm in State College right now, a small Pennsylvania city with a gas price of $1.95. If you go up the road to Lamar, a small town off of Interstate 80, then you get the price of $1.79.





There is also the factor of the price of oil per barrel. It was $135 during the peak prices, but dropped to $70 when the prices stated halving. Price gouging itself is also possible, but that has to come with some sort of National Disaster. I remember the gas station in the Midwest that went to $5.99 a gallon the day after Katrina, when it only went to about 3.19 here.
We threatened to start drilling in the USA again, and this has scared the hell out of OPEC. It'll be like this until our new administration takes over then we'll be at $5.00++ by this time next year. The new administration has already promised to stop any off shore drilling and coal mining in the US and now the the prices have come down, the eco-nazi's are starting their protests as well, and they have the ear for most of the new cabinet.
I think the downturn of the economy has reduced demand.


But, I also think there was a lot of investor/speculation manipulation of prices. I don't think we are sufficiently into hybrid vehicles for that to make a great difference.
%26lt;Sarcasm%26gt; Republican economic policies have ushered in massive lay-offs causing the demand for fuel to go down along with the price. As things get worse the price will continue to go down.





I swear, you democraps don't appreciate anything we republicans do for you.
The speculators SOLD their futures stock and the market collapsed.





Republicans--- Democrats-- Independents-- Obama -- or Bush CANNOT influence the global oil market. US oil companies only control about 3% of the worldwide production of oil.





We import over 70% of our requirements from foreign countries.
It's called a bubble and oil was in one. Don't forget real estate was also in a bubble and it burst. Was Bush responsible for that too?





Econ 101 does wonders for society.






you mean one - third , people really cut back on driving , gas usage has dropped by 10% that is enough to crash commodities , same thing has happened to copper , zinc , lead , and the shipping rates .
Because Congress passed a bill agreeing to drill for oil in the United States. The price went down. Don't thank Democrats for that. Thank Republicans , mainly Newt Gingrich.
Economics 101- supply and demand. Last summer when gas prices were sky high people cut way back on their driving habits while refineries were still running full. Now there is a surplus. Hence- lower prices.
price fixing only hurts the economy because you can't control the free market. People will do as they please. If you don't believe this go and visit your local jail house.
It's SUPPLY and demand. Some countries have been pumping and shipping more than expected. And consumers just aren't buying as much gasoline.
Everybody stopped buying gas, and there's a glut, because nobody can afford to travel.



It's called price elasticity, the demand remains unaltered (for gas)
The election is long over. Expect rising prices again -- yes, double.
Because you continue to pay.








Simple as that.
LESS DEMANDS DUE TO BAD ECONOMY
that was a bush idea to get his buddies some more ill begotten cash before he's kicked out.