Quote:
Originally Posted by Harry Lime
The 'graphs' comment was a dick move, I'll give you that. I just had better things to do, and there are people more saturated in the minutiae than I who could better illustrate the nature of the argument opposite to yours.
|
No problem. Let's be friends again. I'll also try to debate (ok, rant...) in a less arrogant manner.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Harry Lime
Ah, a few other people have come in and said that the correlation deviated over the last three years, and you seem ok with that.
|
Correlation has not deviated, variance has though due to the Canadian dollar going in the crapper which makes both the ups and downs more levered. Correlation has remained rock solid at around 0.95 over the past 3 years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Harry Lime
2013 - Oil rose swiftly to $118.90/barrel on February 8. This sent gas prices to $3.85/gallon by February 25. Prices had started rising earlier than normal because of Iran's aggressive war games near the Strait of Hormuz.
The oil industry collectively acts like a frightened rabbit if it is in their economic interest. Clearly an excuse to raise prices, as no one in their right mind thought that Iran was about to start sinking ships in the strait, or close their most important economic portal.
|
It's not the oil and gas industry that is acting like a frightened rabbit. It is the massive financial markets who trade oil that set the price. Hell, Goldman Sachs has a ridiculously bigger impact on the price of oil than a Suncor or Imperial does. It may sound odd, but oil and gas companies don't set prices. It's a commodity which makes them price takers. That's why their entire focus is on cost. It's the only thing they can do to improve our margin.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Harry Lime
When the games completed, there was no immediate jump back to the norm, even given the correction for the time of year. The higher price due to the minor threat to supply was used as the new base cost for gasoline.
|
I'm seeing a massive and rapid $0.40/L drop in that chart right afterwards.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Harry Lime
You can't see how behavior like this is frustrating to a consumer?
|
The swing in price certainly must be frustrating to a consumer. But placing that frustration entirely, or even largely, at the feet of the oil and gas industry is misplaced anger. I understand why its happening...the massive anti-oil funded marketing campaigns have clearly worked so they seem like easy marks. In some ways I see similar to entirely blaming home builders for the 2008 housing bubble.