We're at $3.49 here in Southern California.

Reuters
Oil spike to last through 2008: OPEC president
Monday March 10, 4:47 am ET


ALGIERS (Reuters) - Oil prices will stay at current high levels for the rest of this year due to speculation and geopolitical tensions, Algerian state media on Monday reported OPEC President Chakib Khelil as saying.
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Prices could retreat in 2009 with a recovery of the U.S. dollar in foreign exchange markets following the election of a new U.S. president, and as fundamentals reassert themselves as major market forces, he was reported as saying by government newspaper El Moudjahid and state news agency APS.

"Just like the current surge in oil markets, the (world economic) crisis, will last until the end of the year," he was quoted as saying by El Moudjahid.

"The oil market will stay above $100 during the current financial year, according to the assessment of Mr Khelil," APS said in a report on his remarks to Algerian reporters on Sunday.

It was not immediately clear which fiscal year APS was referring to.

Khelil, who is also Algerian Energy and Mines Minister, said the factors driving the market at present included "speculation, geopolitical tensions, particularly due to the Iranian nuclear affair and the crisis between Venezuela and ExxonMobil," APS reported.

The world economy could get some help with the arrival of a new U.S. president, and possibly a new economic policy, "and with this new situation it is very probable that the dollar will start to recover and thus permit a readjustment of the (oil) market," El Moudjahid quoted him as saying.

OPEC members meeting in Vienna last week decided to hold production flat, insisting markets were well supplied and blaming record prices on factors outside the group's control, including speculators and what Khelil called the "mismanagement" of the U.S. economy.

Speculators have piled into oil and other commodities as a hedge against the weaker dollar and inflation as the U.S. economy slows due to a credit crunch, the mortgage crisis and high energy costs.

Khelil said OPEC had left output unchanged because it wanted to assist global economic growth, El Moudjahid and APS reported.

The group made its decision in the knowledge that demand was expected to dip by 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in the second quarter of the year and that stocks in consuming countries were at comfortable levels, Khelil said.

"If we had increased our production given all these factors, you wouldn't have been able to miss the impact on prices," he said, suggesting prices would have slid.

"We left our output unchanged so as not to disturb the market further and to help the world economy resume its momentum of growth," El Moudhajid quoted him as saying.

(Reporting by William Maclean, editing by James Jukwey)

what about Californian amd new york with there heavy gas tax, will there social system go bankrupt?

web ferret wrote: In UK petrol is £1.10 a litre£1.10 x 3.78 = £4.15 per US gallonThats $8.09 a gallon!!

    
But you failed to factor in that you get paid in cuurrency that is worth twice as much as ours too.

Minimum wage here is like $5.15 an hour. (Don't quote me on this)

The minimum wage in Pounds is nearly that numerically, and the same is true for the Euro.

For the amount of work, you are getting the equivalent amount of gasoline. People don't see that statistic, but it's far more important than just multiplying a liter by 3.78 and doing a straight exchange.

I wouldn't be surprised to see close to $5.00 by mid summer.   There is also a breaking point for truck drivers where it won't be cost effective for them to make their normal runs.  

 

Turboguy wrote: Albert wrote: I wouldn't be surprised to see close to $5.00 by mid summer.   There is also a breaking point for truck drivers where it won't be cost effective for them to make their normal runs.        Also if gas gets too high you won't have the police protection you enjoy now. They'll force officers to go to a predetermined area and park to respond, not patrol. That means that your friendly neighborhood officer might have quite a bit longer of a response time to where you might need them.

Having been in politics I can tell you, in our county gas is purchased in bulk and we get a big break on gas prices. However, even discount prices will go up.

BUT, politicians do not care because they will go back to you the taxpayer and get more money out of you to pay the bill. Believe me our taxes will go up no matter if you have Republicans or Democrats in office.

Albert is correct trucking companies will be hurt but they will not go out of business they will charge more for delivery.

How many of you lived through the 1970's "Oil Crisis??
When gas prices went up INFLATION went through the roof!!

Penham, do not believe what is in the news... the politicians were telling you Cops were not using AC because that gave them the "out" to raise your taxes without you complaining. "Look we are going to let the cops use AC but you are going to pay more taxes."

Get it straight Politicians are spending our money like there is no end because there is no end they just keep raising our taxes. Having been in government I can tell you, your government is wasting your money by the millions and this is just your city and county government.

Get ready for INFLATION people, "Fasten your seat belts it's going to be a bumpy ride!"

Oh, I believe you Penham!! But the Politicians are SLUGS they made sure everyone knew they cut the poor Cops off of the AC and made the Cops parke not patrol.

Politicians made the poor guys suffer and not do their job so they can make you believe the only way to help the Cops is to raise taxes.

Politicians never cut budgets so that the Cops could do their jobs! No they advertise through the media that Cops can't do their job because there is not enough money!!

Can you go to your boss and say give me a raise because the cost of food and gas have gone up. NO! You have to cut your budget and make do.

Politicians don't cut their budgets, they just give themselves a raise by taxing you so they can keep building bigger government.

Albert wrote: The police fall under City and State government, so I'm sure the city and state vehicles will be fine.

Not so much. Last year when gas prices hit their yearly peak we were told to park and wait for dispatch, only to drive if it were necessary. We had our sergeant drive around as a roving car, but that was it.

What you describe may be how it is in CA, but *NOT* where I live. I work for the county when not playing the active Air Force game, and we're directly dependant on tax revenue proportional to our population, thus we have a set in stone budget. This time of year we're sitting high on the hog, come crunch time, like the end of summer toward fall, and it can get mighty hairy.

In Missouri I worked for a small city department that relied on city taxes for police protection. (sixty total officers, 30 per shift) The possibility that we not patrol was raised, and we were told to keep the odometers at or below 100 miles per day. The department doesn't get a subsidy to lower the price of gas, aside from knocking the taxes off. When gas is $3.00 a gallon at the pump, they're still paying $2.50 or so, and let's face facts: Crown Victoria's and Dodge Hemi Chargers aren't exactly known for their fuel economy...
    

Oil Prices Surpass $109 a Barrel...

$3.47 here in Indiana

    We live in southern Colorado and had planned a trip to Morrow Bay Calif. next month. Have decided to only drive as far as Las Vegas for a few days and back this time, due to gas cost.

I think gas prices will be down by the end of March! The US inventories are up by 11%.

Where I live in Oklahoma, gas went up again this afternoon another .04, up to $3.19 a gallon from $3.15 this morning.