Gas Prices Vs. Crude Oil Prices

[Marblez]

Here is a chart of gas prices for the last 6 years. Notice the growing difference in relationship between Crude oil and Gas prices. What is driving this change? I am generally not one to blame oil companies for raising gas prices strictly for profit, but what else could it be? What happened to change things in late 2003, early 2004?

[Dubh Aingeal]

Once upon a time, in the late 1990s, billions from hedge funds might have been chasing Internet stocks. Now the hot money wants to be in energy. But this isn't just another investment fad. Because while no one was obligated to own Amazon or Pets.com during the tech bubble, all of us buy gasoline to drive our cars or heating oil to stay warm in the winter. Even if we were greener than Al Gore and heated our homes with peat and solar panels, we'd still have to pay higher energy costs being passed along by airlines and hotels and supermarkets.

It's no surprise, then, that the parallel rise of commodities trading and energy prices has sparked a fierce debate over whether hedge fund managers like Karim and other financial players are responsible for $3-a-gallon gas, with the blame game stretching from the boardrooms of Big Oil to Capitol Hill.

Indeed, just about everyone is ducking for cover. Big Oil is pointing fingers at hedge fund managers, who blame commodity index funds, who in turn cite surging demand in China, production losses in Nigeria and Iraq, and hostile regimes in Iran and Venezuela.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

Refining... see my other post.