Inflation is nuts for oil

People only think the POTUS is the cause if…

#1 - Their POTUS caused gas prices to go down.

or

#2 - The POTUS of opposite party caused gas prices to go up.

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Thread is discussing motor oil prices.
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I guess that the current administration must possess incredible powers because energy prices have gone up in every nation–with the probable exception of Saudi Arabia.

Since you apparently haven’t viewed very many news sources for the past few years, here is some information that will educate you regarding this worldwide problem:

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Monday, $2.99 at a name brand, TopTier, station near me.

It was also $2.99 this morning at my local Costco station.

I need a jug of oil so I’ll get the castrol edge for 22 a 5 qt jug and see the 20K super tech synthetic at 26.48 to confirm while standing there.

I understand that but to price Walmart Super Tech brand at 26.48 for their “20K” version which is more than castrol, valvoline, pennzoil, quaker state, etc… is insane. NOBODY will buy ST for 26.48 when the name brands are less. They’re going to choke on those jugs.

Then buy the name brands before they go up in price… and they will go up in price.

Don’t complain about it, shop elsewhere.

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There you go again , being logical . :wink:

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I got some Quaker state for $15 on amazon. Didn’t even have to go to store.

There have been no policies that account for the increase. It is supply and demand.

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August of 2020 - gas prices here 1.70ish per gallon consistently.
February of 2021 - gas prices here 2.59ish.
March of 2021 - gas prices here 2.89ish. Where they remain as of 1/22 and which is roughly a 100%+ increase give/take.
That has not translated into an increase in my oil/gas royalty checks for some reason this time around…

As for consumer prices, it’s not just Wal Mart. Aftermarket car parts have taken a jump upwards also. Even at AutoZone where a lowly tie rod end used to be 15 to 20 dollars it can now easily be 30 to 50.
Cost of a CPA exam in OK used to be a few hundred dollars. Now it’s about 4400 with multiple sections. Fail one part; back to the starting line with another 4400.

I have, everything seems to be 10% higher than it was 2 years ago in USD prices. But it happens suddenly. Prices stay the same for a few years and then there is a sudden increase. So it seems like individual items are getting marked up for unrelated reasons but it’s really just inflation. On average everything goes up about 2.5% USD per year if you look long term.

That is an excellent point. My dividends from Chevron, Exxon-Mobil, and Marathon have barely budged upward over the past few years. What is even more galling to me is that Pfizer–which is making HUGE profits from their vaccine and medications–has not raised its paltry dividend. :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

Either they’re mostly based on natural gas, which hasn’t gone up, or they’re several months behind, or those wells have dropped rate significantly. Royalty $ = production X royalty% X price, so the checks should increase.

8% for last year. Who knows what is in store for the next few years? Many of us are old enough to remember the lovely 70s - 7.25% average, the 80s - 5.82% average. Wasn’t until the 90s that we got down to 3% for the decade.

And the jump in price for a given product often reflects the replacement cost once the old stock is sold out. when the $26 and 5-qt jug oil is gone, the replacement stuff is priced at $30.99 because it cost more to buy.

… and, in order to try to rein-in that inflation, the Fed increased interest rates to astronomical levels. I was still an apartment dweller at that point, but I was able to save more money for a home purchase because the interest rate on my money market account rose to 16%. That was good for me, but…

… my brother got a mortgage for his first home, and he paid 17% interest :grimacing: for a few years, until he was able to do a refinance. For the sake of younger people who might want to buy a home in the next few years, let’s hope that The Fed doesn’t jack-up interest rates as much as they did in the '70s.

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Yeah, we paid 17% for our first house for a few years. Then interest rates went down and we refinanced at 12.5%, and later refinanced again at about 10%. When the rates went down, we kept the monthly payment stable, shortened the term, and paid extra principle. We ended up paying off what started out as a 30 year loan in 12.5 years.

The Federal Reserve hasn’t increased the federal funds rate yet. When this happens, probably in March, that will cool off the economy and may begin retarding inflation. Several economists expect up to 4 increases in the federal funds rate this year. The economy has been tanked for a couple of years because of Covid-19. When is the right time to pull back growth? People were out of work for a couple of years, and we are just now getting back towards a normal work market. We’ll see how the economy evolves over the next year. I’m not excited in a negative way (or positive) yet.

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I’m far from an economist. Obviously. So let me get this straight…the price of most things is higher now…due to a limited supply vs demand. So in order to correct that, they’ll raise interest rates. So you’ll be buying your overpriced vehicles and houses and paying a higher interest rate when you do. That will eventually make the demand go down a little. Which will make the prices drop? :thinking:

The only economics class I took was at a community college. I don’t remember much about it other than the brunette I smoked cigarettes with before class…the few times I didn’t show up late.