Who Do You Blame For The Spike In Gas Prices?
Ask 10 different people and you might get 10 different answers as to why gas prices have spiked sharply in September.
The facts are indisputable.
According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of gas in Rhode Island is currently $3.88. That's up 4 cents over last week's prices and a whopping 13 cents higher than it was just one month ago.
The price has actually soared to over $4 a gallon at some Newport County stations, with most area gas prices hovering around $3.99 per gallon for regular unleaded.
Just one year ago, Rhode Islanders were paying $3.74 gas up with that same gallon.
Over the border, Massachusetts residents are also paying more this week, where gasoline prices are also up 4 cents this week, according to AAA Southern New England.
Ask 10 different people to explain the cause of the off-season spike and you might get 10 different answers. Some have blamed OPEC, while others have blamed big oil companies. A recent rash of severe weather has been seen as a cause by some people, as have the energy polices and proposals of one political party or another. Still other people have blamed oil speculators on Wall Street.
But we want to know what YOU think. What do you believe is the cause for the recent spike in the cost of gasoline? Tell us in the comment section below!
Bear401
11:38 am on Sunday, September 16, 2012
Oil companies & the speculators who work for them
eggplant123
5:31 pm on Sunday, September 16, 2012
obama
Peggy
6:54 pm on Sunday, September 16, 2012
Barrack Hussein
getreal
2:58 am on Monday, September 17, 2012
I expected this before the elections. BIG OIL and all the billions in subsidies and tax breaks need the Republican ticket to win. They have contributed heavily in hopes of keeping those benefits and hopefully get more public land drilling permits and less regulations
Joe Sousa.
6:10 am on Monday, September 17, 2012
Go tell that to the struggling home owners paying twelve hundred dollars to fill their oil tank . Obama has to go!
Average Joe
9:21 am on Monday, September 17, 2012
Since Obama blames everything that has gone wrong in the past 4 year on this person, I will to. George Bush.
Paul Silver
9:39 am on Monday, September 17, 2012
I would love to hear from you folks blaming Obama how in fact the President, any President, controls the price of gasoline...
If you can explain that to me, I am all ears...
getreal
3:38 pm on Monday, September 17, 2012
Wall Street, Major Corporations, Millionaire tax breaks, Special Interest, thats the problem!
Bob Parr
5:42 pm on Monday, September 17, 2012
QE 3 (quantitative easing) which means the FED prints up $40 Billion per month to buy up the Criminal Bankers' debt so they can gamble some more in the derivatives market. QE-3 = printing more money = another bailout to banks = commodities inflation.
Paul Silver
6:06 pm on Monday, September 17, 2012
and all this effects gas prices how? QE 3 just took place last week... I am sure it has not impacted gas prices yet...
Bob Parr
6:42 pm on Monday, September 17, 2012
Gas is a commodity as I am sure you know. The previous increases were tied to the summer travel and hurricane season and theoretically should have ended in early Sept. But the oil companies knew QE-3 was coming and, as such, the gas prices never dropped in Sept. Here is an interesting chart showing how inflation has effected gas prices over the years: http://inflationdata.com/Inflation/images/charts/Oil/Gasoline_inflation_chart.htm
Bob Parr
6:50 pm on Monday, September 17, 2012
Of course we can also add the turmoil in the Middle East to the equation, along with oil speculators, the war in Afghanistan, and the sanctions against Iran exporting their oil to the West - not to mention the threat of war against Iran (the third biggest oil producer) which, IMO, will cause gas prices here to hit at least $7.00/gal.
Bob Parr
7:00 pm on Monday, September 17, 2012
Also one can see how weak the dollar is in this chart:
http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=%24USD Check out Sept.