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Real Estate the cut throat industry (pg. 6)
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| pkcRAISTLIN |
ok, but can you answer me this?
with the devalued dollar, that barrel of oil now costs your $21 US. but my australian dollar now buys more US dollars than it used to, why am i still seeing really high petrol prices?
i saw a good story not too long ago, blaming a lot of the price on speculative investors. |
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| Vivid Boy |
| do you guys sleep? |
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| Lebezniatnikov |
| quote: | Originally posted by Vivid Boy
do you guys sleep? |
I never sleep, cuz sleep is the cousin of death. |
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| MrJiveBoJingles |
| The root of the U.S. economic situation is our low savings (i.e. long-term investment) rate. |
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| Lebezniatnikov |
| quote: | Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles
The root of the U.S. economic situation is our low savings (i.e. long-term investment) rate. |
Now this I agree with. +1 |
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| MrJiveBoJingles |
The U.S. and other Western countries have long been sliding into less future-oriented lifestyles. So much follows from this fact.
[I'm talking here about the economic meaning of "future-orientation," not the gloss of futurism in entertainment or music industries.] |
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| Lebezniatnikov |
Growth is tied to investment, and when investment is low, growth will inevitably slow (unless efficiency of investment is unbelievably high). So now we are beginning to see GNP growth decline to levels approximating inflation rates, which is why the Fed might cut interest rates to curb inflation (not create, but limit). When you cut interest rates, currency is devalued, and you see some prices of commodities go up. But currency devaluation isn't necessarily a bad thing either - we are making American goods more affordable abroad and imports more expensive - so this could go some way in balancing our trade, though trade deficits are not necessarily a bad thing either.
| quote: | Crude Oil Prices Break $99
PABLO GORONDI | November 21, 2007 08:39 AM EST |
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— Crude oil prices rose above a record $99 per barrel Wednesday as worries about inadequate winter supplies in the Northern Hemisphere and news of refinery problems stoked bullish sentiment.
The declining U.S. dollar and speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve will again cut interest rates also boosted prices. Some investors put their money into oil contracts, betting that gains in their price will offset dollar weakness.
"The market is now really looking at $100 a barrel as the next target to hit," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. "The fact that we are having this surge in pricing in this short trading week underscores the strength of this bull run for oil."
Light, sweet crude for January delivery rose as high as $99.29 a barrel in electronic trading after the New York Mercantile Exchange closed, breaking the previous intraday record of $98.62 set Nov 7. The contract was trading at $98.24 a barrel _ up 21 cents on Tuesday's close _ at midday in Europe. Brent crude for January delivery was little changed at $95.88.
The contract surged $3.39 during the floor session Tuesday in New York to a record close of $98.03 a barrel. The Nymex will be closed on Thursday for Thanks giving and close early on Friday.
"There were strong gains in almost all commodities (Tuesday), hence we will view the rise of the oil markets in that global context," said Olivier Jakob at Petromatrix in Switzerland. "The mythical $100 per barrel is of course within reach for today with or without the help of the weekly statistics."
Energy futures got a boost on news of problems at two oil facilities Tuesday. A Valero Energy Corp. refinery in Memphis, Tennessee, that processes 180,000 barrels of crude a day has shut down for 10 days of unplanned maintenance. Also, a Royal Dutch Shell PLC plant that converts bitumen from Alberta's oil sands region into 155,000 barrels a day of synthetic crude oil was temporarily shut down due to a fire.
Beyond these temporary concerns, investors are anxious that as global demand for energy grows, fueled by China and India's rapid development, oil supplies won't be able to keep up.
Currently, oil producers are turning out about 85 million barrels a day, while the U.S. Department of Energy says consumption is between 85 million and 86 million barrels a day.
"The long-term underlying trend is that demand is powering forward and the supply situation looks tight," said Jeff Brown, managing director and chief economist at FACTS Global Energy in Singapore.
Oil prices also got support after the Fed said it thinks U.S. economic growth will slow next year to between 1.8 percent and 2.5 percent, less than the Fed's previous projections. It also projected that U.S. inflation should fall next year to between a 1.8 percent and 2.1 percent increase.
That could mean the Fed will cut interest rates further, and that could weigh on the dollar. On Tuesday, the euro hit an all-time high against the dollar, breaking through the $1.48 mark.
"When the U.S. dollar hit a record low, oil also surged ahead. It's been an inverse relationship," Shum said. "Also, the Fed indicating worries about the U.S. economy has caused worry that the Fed will cut interest rates."
Crude prices are within the range of inflation-adjusted highs set in early 1980. Depending on how the adjustment is calculated, $38 a barrel then would be worth $96 to $103 or more today.
Oil product prices also fell back from higher level earlier Wednesday. December heating oil futures were down 0.01 cent at $2.6900 a gallon after closing in New York at $2.6901 a gallon, a record settlement. Gasoline prices were unchanged at $2.4715 a gallon.
Natural gas futures gained 0.1 cents to $7.478 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Traders were also closely watching for the release of Wednesday's petroleum inventory report from the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration.
Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires, on average, predict that crude oil inventories rose by 800,000 barrels last week, while refinery use grew by 0.4 percentage point to 88.1 percent of capacity.
Gasoline likely grew by 700,000 barrels, the analysts predicted, while inventories of distillates, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, fell by 400,000 barrels.
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Associated Press Writer Gillian Wong in Singapore contributed to this report.
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| Krypton |
| quote: | Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
ok, but can you answer me this?
with the devalued dollar, that barrel of oil now costs your $21 US. but my australian dollar now buys more US dollars than it used to, why am i still seeing really high petrol prices?
i saw a good story not too long ago, blaming a lot of the price on speculative investors. |
Crude oil and gasoline (petrol) supply and demand are two different markets (within the energy market). Gasoline must be refined from crude oil. I don't know about Australia, but a possible cause of your high petrol rates could be...
1. Taxes; Some European countries tax 50% on gasoline.
2. The gasoline inventory in Australia is low, meaning less gasoline for the Australian markets.
I know in America, we had the opposite scenario, which was strange. Oil prices were rising into the $90 range, but gasoline prices had fallen from their highs as much 5-10%. It was because our inventories were high enough to have a lowering effect on the price. |
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| Krypton |
| quote: | Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles
The root of the U.S. economic situation is our low savings (i.e. long-term investment) rate. |
I'de say having a purely fiat currency, where each dollar printed is a debt on the american government, and by extensive the american people will keep our economy credit-based and in a perpetual state of debt we can never escape from.
"The Government should create, issue, and circulate all the currency and credit needed to satisfy the spending power of the Government and the buying power of consumers.The privilege of creating and issuing money is not only the supreme prerogative of Government, but it is the Government’s greatest creative opportunity. The taxpayers will be saved immense sums in interest, discounts, and exchanges." -Abraham Lincoln
Instead credit is in private hands instead of the public, and so we pay enormous sums in interest. I mean some credit cards charge over 20% interest!! There are millions of people out there who can't even pay their credit card debt, but instead pay just the interest alone just to stave off the collections agencies. |
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| Erotic Buddha |
| nice to see an intelligent thread in the chillout room for once |
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| MrJiveBoJingles |
| quote: | Originally posted by Krypton
each dollar printed is a debt on the american government, and by extensive the american people |
What does this mean? |
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| Krypton |
| quote: | Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles
What does this mean? |
The Federal Reserve prints a dollar, then loans it to the US government. The government then has to pay interest on these loans, which is paid for by tax-payers. I believe the government should be the one printing dollars so that tax-payers don't have to pay interest on simply using money. Notice at the top of a dollar says, "Federal Reserve Note". It's their dollar, not ours. We pay interest so we can use their dollars that they print, and they loan us the dollars. Therefore, our entire economy is based on debt and credit. And as you see, we're living way beyond our means. |
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