Note that Natural Gas prices are now where they were when this article ran: .........1996.

http://www.newstimes.com/archive96/dec1896/bzc.htm

December 18, 1996 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rising petroleum prices hit hard at the pocketbook By KAREN SCHWARTZ

AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) - The price of oil and natural gas has been on a roller coaster, but for most people, the ride has been anything but fun. For one thing, it's costing Americans more to heat their homes, drive their cars and deliver some holiday gifts.

As a blizzard whipped across the Plains, meteorologists predicted that this will be one of the coldest weeks of the year for parts of the country.

The weather concerns pushed natural gas deliveries for January up by 16 percent to a $4.467 per 1,000 cubic feet on Monday, its highest price since the Mercantile Exchange started trading the commodity in 1990. The price of heating and crude oil also surged.

On Tuesday, the prices fell as some traders sold contracts to reap profits. But prices are expected to rise again as demand increases through the winter.

``With Arctic air bearing down on the nation and with inventories for heating fuel at record low levels, there is no way that the oil and gas industry can supply enough fuel in the coming weeks to prevent sharp and dramatic price increases,'' said Ed Rothchild, energy policy director of Citizen Action, a consumer watchdog organization based in Washington.

The rising prices are the result of a combination of factors. Refineries normally stockpile supplies over the winter, but the severity of last year's season kept refineries busy producing heating oil, while supplies of gasoline dwindled.

Then over the summer, demand for gasoline kept refineries too busy to restock heating oil. Now there is another heating oil shortage, so gasoline is again getting the short stick.

Rothchild predicted that the average residential customer will end up paying $200 to $300 more for heat this winter. It's just one of the many ways consumers have started paying more for petroleum products.

``The huge shortfall inventories for heating oil, propane and natural gas are the result of deliberate decisions by the oil and gas companies to cut costs, increase profits and put consumers at risk for sharply rising prices,'' Rothchild said.

Nonsense, said Ed Murphy, director of finance, accounting and statistics with the American Petroleum Institute.

``I think what's happening in the market is that worldwide crude supplies are very tight.''

Copyright 1996 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

-- Anon (anon@anon.anon), June 02, 2000

Answers

All this crying and whining about high gas prices is just that, and only that -- crying and whining.

In order to be well-informed, people need to look not only at the NOMINAL price of whatever -- i.e. whatever it costs right now --

but need to look at the INFLATION-ADJUSTED cost of things now. THAT'S the TICKET. If you don't take that (inflation over time) into account, you're just blowing meaningless hot air.

And if you look at the INFLATION-ADJUSTED price of gasoline right now, you'll see that we're NOW in the BOTTOM TEN PERCENT OF GASOLINE PRICE HISTORY FOR ALL YEARS SINCE 1919.

Thems is de facts folks. Gas-outs be damned. Ignorance cubed.

-- Chicken Little (panic@isover.now), June 02, 2000.

CL:

And if you look at the INFLATION-ADJUSTED price of gasoline right now, you'll see that we're NOW in the BOTTOM TEN PERCENT OF GASOLINE PRICE HISTORY FOR ALL YEARS SINCE 1919. Thems is de facts folks. Gas-outs be damned. Ignorance cubed.

Of course you are correct. But two points:

1. The post dealt with methane and not gasoline.

2. The line of argument assumes that family income increase has matched price increases over the period. That is clearly not true for the lower income groups. So the poor can freeze?

Is this important? Can't say because I don't know the income level of the "so-called" whiners. Understanding cubed.

Best wishes,,,,,

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), June 02, 2000.

Chicken Little,

Did you know that from the early 1800s to the early 1900s, inflation was unheard of in Great Britain? It's amazing what a gold standard can do for a currency. You are like so many of today's Americans, perfectly content that prices should rise forever as our government destroys our "money".

Instead of slamming Anon for not understanding inflation, why don't you use your incredible knowledge of inflation to lobby your elected representatives to end it by once again backing the dollar with something real.

-- J (Y2J@home.comm), June 03, 2000.

Actually it was for a period of over 250 years, with the exception of war, prices actually deflated as productivity increased. Meaning those that saved their money were actually able to see it value increase throught the deflation of their everyday prices of goods and services.Imagine that. By saving money you would actually have more value for you money in the future. The only thing that can do that now is gold.

-- deflation (england1600@1914.com), June 05, 2000.