This morning on The Opening Bell Stephen Schork, editor of The Schork Report, joined me to discuss the pullback in oil and gasoline prices. Stephen is very well-respected by Wall Street and by the energy companies he speaks on behalf of. His reports are excellent. They look at the energy markets, the factors impacting the energy markets and point out discrepancies. Look at this stat: OPEC which meets this Friday for an emergency session where they are expected to cut one to two million barrels of production, earned an estimated $821 billion in oil exports in 2008 (thus far) compared to $671 billion in 2007. Saudi Arabia earned the largest share of the 29 members generating $194 billion in revenues. No wonder they want to cut production!
Today Stephen took a stab at the people responsible for the record run up in oil prices; Wall Street and the speculators. In fact it wasn't a stab, it was a slap in the face to those who he believes are responsible for the record spike. He highlighted fundamentals in the industry and why a run up to that degree is not possible without speculation given the five year move in all prices from $20 a barrel to $70 last year. He also believes that oil prices will settle back in around $60 a barrel and possibly below that.
Hard to believe right? Amazing given that we were at $147 a barrel in mid July. Equally amazing, the pullback in gasoline prices. We reached a high of $4.11 in mid July and are now at $2.95 and heading lower.
On Money for Breakfast we gathered together what we called a national gas roundtable from California to Washington DC to Atlanta. Look at the difference in prices and the difference in opinion on what caused the run up, where we go from here and why we have to be careful that we don't take our eye off the ball.
Remember if its being done correctly its probably not being done by the US government...no matter which party is in power!!!
October 22, 2008 at 6:12 pm
Shane
Get gas down to one dollar a gal and it will all be ok again and get rid of all the gas taxs, too good to happen huh. Shane
October 22, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Bill RUTH
How about cutting the taxes, how about refining 1 fuel type to be used throughout the country, and how about using our own energy sources more? I know too simple. Rumor has it, it may not make much difference anyway if Obama is elected. Might want to invest in a strong horse and buggy.
October 22, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Tim
Oil and gas prices have been going up ever since Sept 11th 2001. World events happened on top of one another in the past 8 years, and the market balooned the price of oil which led to gas price increase...on TOP of that, Speculators drove up the price per barrel even further by manipulating the market. No matter what anyone says, there is no way in hell that since 2001 the DEMAND increased so much to up the price per barrel by 8 times. OPEC and their snakey attitude need to be silenced. Their greed needs to be erased. And it can only be done by drastically increasing our own capacity of bringing oil to market, which will strap them all, and at the same time push for alternative fueled cars to really drive it home that we dont need them anymore even after we have the ability to drop our capacity...either by our own decision, or we just plain run out of oil.
October 22, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Dan, Navarre FL
Gee the speculators were a major player in the oil run up! Cant be everyone on the business shows were assuring us that it wasnt so and that was things were. Yeh right, once they pulled all the money out the bottom has fallen out. Again the same factors that were there in the summer are still around, OPEC Cuts, Iran, Nigerian rebels etc.. The biggest change is tha lack of consumption by consumers forced to to choose on how to spend money. Also a few lifestyle changes like not running around just because. Even with a hurting economy as folks slowly get rid of the big vehicle for everyone in the famliy and go smaller, the amount of fuel being used will also keep decreasing. OPEC and their speculator cronnies might want to start living in the real world as well.
October 22, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Jeffrey Few
"There's something happening here and we don't know what it is, do we Mr. Jones"
October 22, 2008 at 10:17 am
Grant
I'm not all about cutting oil consumtion just because an environmentalist says so. I'm more of a stick it to the man kind of guy. In this case that man is OPEC. What assets do these counrties have that is of value, besides oil? Oil makes up around 75% of Saudi Arabias total revenues. Kuwait, 80%,
Venezuela, around 55%, Iran, around 50%. None of OPEC's members really like the U.S. anyway they're just in it for the money.
October 22, 2008 at 9:51 am
Earl Tomlinson
We all knew last summer it was the speculators that ran the price of oil up. In the future we need to watch this type of invasive (non capitalist)manipulation of the market. The speculators of this nature should be required to have a gambling liscense but even more important the high prices contributed to the financial crisis thus hurting us all. Let's pay more attention next time.
October 22, 2008 at 9:08 am
Wayne S
Don't worry, we can eliminate speculators and socialize all gasoline costs. Than gas will be $8/gallon, just like Europe
October 22, 2008 at 8:41 am
Kara
Jeremy, well duh. I've been writing the McCain campaign for months telling them to put more emphasis on fuel prices. Now that OPEC wants to cut production to drive prices up again, they should really be focusing on this.
October 22, 2008 at 7:57 am
Jeremy
From a "Joe the Plumber" perspective, has anyone considered the domino effect that these oil prices have had on the overall economy? By that I mean that while the housing bubble started to burst prior to this, the impact on the entire financial industry seemed to follow the oil spike. For example, working and middle class families seemed somewhat stable with $2.00/gallon gas, but with prices in excess of $3.50/gallon, many people were forced to make decisions about which bills to pay; and from the looks of the economy many people decided to pay for gas to keep going to work instead of paying other unsecured debt. In my middle America opinion this maybe more than any other aspect had a direct impact on our current economic situation. Just some thoughts...
October 21, 2008 at 4:19 pm
TJF
Geez, someone with the courage to tell the truth!
October 21, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Tim
Bush, jusk ask any democrat you know
October 21, 2008 at 3:03 pm
chuck
Real simple:
speculators and jobbers.
Here's follow up since Kroger open thier gas pumps here in Vicksburg finally. The locals are more disappointed that Kroger didn't lower thier prices like the gas prices are in the central part of the state. Also Kroger should be in thier superstore by Thanksgiving of next month. Hopefully Kroger can open doors for Walmart to open thier gas pumps here. But Kroger intends to lock horn with the local Kangeroos which Pantry Inc owns. At one time the Kangeroo was the price leader in town. Now Kroger stores have taken the lead with gas prices now.
Now the Kroger card offers real value with thier member card when you shop and get over 100pts. A lot gets knocked off from the gas price. Now without groceries the gas prices are 3cents off with a Kroger card.
Now Kangeroo/Pantry doesn't make this kind of offer.
October 21, 2008 at 2:21 pm
aboutthis blog
Alexis Glick is an anchor for FOX Business Network. Prior to joining FOX, Glick served as a correspondent for the Today Show and co-anchored the third hour of that program. Before her stint at NBC News, she was the senior trading correspondent for CNBC and reported from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
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jack
Remember if its being done correctly its probably not being done by the US government...no matter which party is in power!!!
Shane
Get gas down to one dollar a gal and it will all be ok again and get rid of all the gas taxs, too good to happen huh. Shane
Bill RUTH
How about cutting the taxes, how about refining 1 fuel type to be used throughout the country, and how about using our own energy sources more? I know too simple. Rumor has it, it may not make much difference anyway if Obama is elected. Might want to invest in a strong horse and buggy.
Tim
Oil and gas prices have been going up ever since Sept 11th 2001. World events happened on top of one another in the past 8 years, and the market balooned the price of oil which led to gas price increase...on TOP of that, Speculators drove up the price per barrel even further by manipulating the market. No matter what anyone says, there is no way in hell that since 2001 the DEMAND increased so much to up the price per barrel by 8 times. OPEC and their snakey attitude need to be silenced. Their greed needs to be erased. And it can only be done by drastically increasing our own capacity of bringing oil to market, which will strap them all, and at the same time push for alternative fueled cars to really drive it home that we dont need them anymore even after we have the ability to drop our capacity...either by our own decision, or we just plain run out of oil.
Dan, Navarre FL
Gee the speculators were a major player in the oil run up! Cant be everyone on the business shows were assuring us that it wasnt so and that was things were. Yeh right, once they pulled all the money out the bottom has fallen out. Again the same factors that were there in the summer are still around, OPEC Cuts, Iran, Nigerian rebels etc.. The biggest change is tha lack of consumption by consumers forced to to choose on how to spend money. Also a few lifestyle changes like not running around just because. Even with a hurting economy as folks slowly get rid of the big vehicle for everyone in the famliy and go smaller, the amount of fuel being used will also keep decreasing. OPEC and their speculator cronnies might want to start living in the real world as well.
Jeffrey Few
"There's something happening here and we don't know what it is, do we Mr. Jones"
Grant
I'm not all about cutting oil consumtion just because an environmentalist says so. I'm more of a stick it to the man kind of guy. In this case that man is OPEC. What assets do these counrties have that is of value, besides oil? Oil makes up around 75% of Saudi Arabias total revenues. Kuwait, 80%, Venezuela, around 55%, Iran, around 50%. None of OPEC's members really like the U.S. anyway they're just in it for the money.
Earl Tomlinson
We all knew last summer it was the speculators that ran the price of oil up. In the future we need to watch this type of invasive (non capitalist)manipulation of the market. The speculators of this nature should be required to have a gambling liscense but even more important the high prices contributed to the financial crisis thus hurting us all. Let's pay more attention next time.
Wayne S
Don't worry, we can eliminate speculators and socialize all gasoline costs. Than gas will be $8/gallon, just like Europe
Kara
Jeremy, well duh. I've been writing the McCain campaign for months telling them to put more emphasis on fuel prices. Now that OPEC wants to cut production to drive prices up again, they should really be focusing on this.
Jeremy
From a "Joe the Plumber" perspective, has anyone considered the domino effect that these oil prices have had on the overall economy? By that I mean that while the housing bubble started to burst prior to this, the impact on the entire financial industry seemed to follow the oil spike. For example, working and middle class families seemed somewhat stable with $2.00/gallon gas, but with prices in excess of $3.50/gallon, many people were forced to make decisions about which bills to pay; and from the looks of the economy many people decided to pay for gas to keep going to work instead of paying other unsecured debt. In my middle America opinion this maybe more than any other aspect had a direct impact on our current economic situation. Just some thoughts...
TJF
Geez, someone with the courage to tell the truth!
Tim
Bush, jusk ask any democrat you know
chuck
Real simple: speculators and jobbers. Here's follow up since Kroger open thier gas pumps here in Vicksburg finally. The locals are more disappointed that Kroger didn't lower thier prices like the gas prices are in the central part of the state. Also Kroger should be in thier superstore by Thanksgiving of next month. Hopefully Kroger can open doors for Walmart to open thier gas pumps here. But Kroger intends to lock horn with the local Kangeroos which Pantry Inc owns. At one time the Kangeroo was the price leader in town. Now Kroger stores have taken the lead with gas prices now. Now the Kroger card offers real value with thier member card when you shop and get over 100pts. A lot gets knocked off from the gas price. Now without groceries the gas prices are 3cents off with a Kroger card. Now Kangeroo/Pantry doesn't make this kind of offer.