Is big oil taking one for w/cheney*?

[catmandu57]

Oil closed at a record high of over 45.00 today. Gasoline price here has been declining over the past few weeks, it's at 1.69 here. Before, when there was even a hiccup in oil prices it would shoot up, a nickle or dime, and now it's decreasing? something isn't adding up.
I've been paying attention to this and have been looking for an answer, some say it's because there is a substantial supply, but I return to before whenever oil even bumbed up, it followed at the gas station.
The only thing that makes sense to me is that big oil is taking one for the team, expecting huge returns down the road, what do you think?

[Trajan]

1. You have got that right ....

Big Oil knows where the cash till is fed .... It is fed by the GOP in office ....

They KNOW Georgie will lose his arse if gas goes up too high in an election season .... they will bide their time, count their windfall profits from oil sales, exult in not having to contribute to society in any way proportionate to the benefit they receive from society because of the GOP tax cuts they received, which was the quid pro quo for their support of Bush/Cheney since 1998 ....

HEy ? ... It's JUST a couple of months .... right ?

[Tempest]

2. Record oil profits early in the year

The companies made their record profits early in the year so they could afford to take a bath now.

They are counting on American's not remembering the beginning of the year.

Just wait until after the election and oil companies institute a correction. It won't be pretty.

[cheezus]

4. which will happen in december

right when everyone needs to keep from freezing

[Tempest]

5. Heating oil futures at record high

It's going to be an ugly winter long before December if there's a cold streak anywhere in the country.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

3. There is a certain disconnect

One of the big pressures on the price has been the Bush admin.'s decision to fill up the Strategic Petrol Reserve no matter what.
I think you are right.

[catmandu57]

6. Filling the strategic reserve

is going to be for the military benefit only. This winter New England will freeze for want of heating oil, and we're going to pay out of our nose either way, if the chimp* steals the govt. again big oil will get theirs, it we succeed in running them out of town it will be months before we can get a windfall profits act going.

[Tempest]

7. Strategic reserve no factor really

The strategic reserve purchase is only 100,000 barrels a month. That's chicken scratch.

The real pressure is the booming economies in China and Indonesia.

[Yavin4]

8. They Won't Be Able To Suppress Them For Long

Some analysts expect oil to reach $60 a barrel before election day. That's an awfully big number for the oil companies to swallow. Their shareholders won't stand for it.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

9. AAA rep in Oregon: “We’re witnessing an odd phenomenon,”

Oregon’s gas prices are an average $1.95 per gallon. It’s higher in the Ashland/Medford area, where fuel is at $1.97 a gallon. The Salem area is selling gas for $1.91 a gallon, and in the Eugene-Springfield area, gas prices are at $1.93 a gallon.

In Vancouver, gas is at $1.88 a gallon, which is about eight cents lower than the Washington state average. Nationally, gas prices are at $1.87.

“We’re witnessing an odd phenomenon,” Eki said. “While pump prices continue to fall, the price of crude oil hit an all-time high of more than $45 per barrel.”

Analysts say the odd pattern underscores the idea that spring and summer gasoline prices no longer rise and fall simply on the cost of oil but are heavily influenced by cost and supply considerations related to domestic clean gasoline regulations, Eki said....

http://www.kgw.com/business/stories/kgw_081004_travel_gas_prices.6388d409.html

The bullshit excuse for this follows in the article: "Analysts say the odd pattern underscores the idea that spring and summer gasoline prices no longer rise and fall simply on the cost of oil but are heavily influenced by cost and supply considerations related to domestic clean gasoline regulations"

[NewYorkerfromMass]

10. Average price up to 1.97

Gasoline reached an average high of $1.97 a gallon last month, up 26 percent from a year earlier.

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aCb7yGM6GwyU&refer=us

[NewYorkerfromMass]

11. Lower prices attributed to increased refinery capacity

Gasoline prices dropped slightly in the past two weeks as refineries finished projects that had been limiting production, an industry analyst said Sunday....

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0726gasprices26.html

[PsN2Wind]

12. To keep it simple, it is:

Short term loss for long term gain.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

13. Basics on prices of crude and gasoline explained here

http://www.keystone-web.com/commodities/indepth/energies.html