There is no inflation..........Gas prices surge to $1.30, up 40 cents from a year ago

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The price of gas goes up this much and the government reports that there is very little inflation.. What wrong with this picture. LINK

By WILLIAM RYBERG Register Business Writer 02/05/2000

Gas prices surged to around $1.30 a gallon at some Des Moines-area retail outlets this week, and could go higher in the next month, a state official said Friday.

David Downing of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources said prices haven't been that high for a sustained length of time since about 1990.

Downing said at least one retailer was selling self-serve unleaded regular for $1.31 a gallon, and several others were charging around $1.30.

The rise reflects a nationwide trend driven mostly by OPEC limits on production to push up prices for crude oil, Downing said.

Gas was selling at 90 cents a gallon in Iowa a year ago because of high gas inventories nationwide and low crude oil prices, stemming from a worldwide glut of crude.

November 1990 was the last time that the statewide monthly average was above $1.30.

Last month's statewide average was $1.21 a gallon, and the Des Moines-area average was $1.19.

Downing said the price for gas has been bouncing up and down in recent days and it's hard to predict where it might go.

But Des Moines-area prices could rise to $1.35 or $1.40 a gallon by spring - or perhaps in the next month - if OPEC maintains its production limits, Downing said.

"Unless something miraculous happens, that's where we're going," he said.

The national average price was $1.31 a gallon on Jan. 31, compared with 92 cents a year earlier, Downing said.

-- y2k dave (xsdaa111@hotmail.com), February 05, 2000

Answers

"But Des Moines-area prices could rise to $1.35 or $1.40 a gallon by spring - or perhaps in the next month - if OPEC maintains its production limits, Downing said."

-- Butt Nugget (catsbutt@umailme.com), February 05, 2000.

Yes Dave, you are right, there is no inflation.

Energy costs and food costs are no longer a part of the federal inflation equations - or so that is what I have been reading. Energy and food prices can sky rocket all the way to the moon and will never affect inflation.

This is a good way to keep us dumb and happy.

Gotta run, my second mortage on my home has been approved, and just cant wait to invest that money in high tech internet stocks.

-- ilander -- (ilander@minot.com), February 05, 2000.


"But Des Moines-area prices could rise to $1.35 or $1.40 a gallon by spring - or perhaps in the next month - if OPEC maintains its production limits, Downing said."

I thought JC said it was supposed to reach $6 a gallon some time in February.

-- Butt Nugget (catsbutt@umailme.com), February 05, 2000.


Obviously, there is not an inflation problem. Just give me enough money to buy stocks of money losing .com companies and I'll be happy. Earnings, irrelevant.

-- haha (haha@haha.com), February 05, 2000.

Driving across Harris County (Houston) this morning, I had an eye opening experience. The posted gas prices here have REALLY gone up.

At some stations the increase in the last 10 days is approx .13 per gallon. The prices are all over the map though, just like Houston (all over the map), some high, some low. Large, obvious increases like these, in Houston, are very much out of character.

Large portions of the Eastern and Southeastern areas of the county are covered with refineries. Also, adjacent areas of bordering counties too. If you've never seen the Houston area refineries and chemical plants, you wouldn't have a point of reference to understand the massive nature of it. Normally gasoline here is in the lower ranges of what most other states and cities pay.

Gas prices increased at most of the stations I saw this morning, but not all of them.

-- snooze button (alarmclock_2000@yahoo.com), February 05, 2000.



Houston Cheapest Seen: Conoco - $1.19/gal (nasty old station near Astrodome)

Typical Mainline Stations in town: $1.35 to $1.39/gal

Common Suburban Stations: $1.27 to $1.35/gal

...and these are the Saturday morning prices in (Refinery City) Houston.

-- snooze button (alarmclock_2000@yahoo.com), February 05, 2000.


We can't include energy and food prices in the CPI any more because it might be an indication of, hold your breath,inflation which of course could upset the bubble.

It seems though that any negative news is cause to inflate the balloon even more. Profitability, bah humbug! Extended losses are what investors want to see! Amazon is my favorite loss leader.

-- Guy Daley (guydaley@bwn.net), February 05, 2000.


Since we are not allowed to see the REAL Inflation Numbers,'cause ENERGY and FOOD are skillfully removed,why not start showing our own REAL INFLATION Numbers,BUT do not forget to include the Stock Prices,that Revelation will increase Your "Steady Drip".

-- NOT bamboozled (weeping@thenumbers.cure?), February 05, 2000.

It is my personal opinion that ANY major category we spend our earnings on should be a part of the inflation equation.

This includes taxes.

-- ilander -- (ilander@minot.com), February 05, 2000.


Visiting in Cincinnati this weekend -- 89 octane, major brands, $1.45 to $1.55/gal. Filled up in Atlanta at $1.30 just before we left to come up here. Curious.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), February 06, 2000.


Yesterday drove by my usual fill stop where I fill the tank. Gas was the normal 1.17 that it had been for a month. This morning on the way to church I noticed the price again, this time 1.22, and up the street it was 1.25. This is in So Ga.

-- Notforlong (Fsur@aol.com), February 06, 2000.

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