As a result of the record high in oil prices, consumers now face soaring fuel bills, while their spending is being squeezed by higher mortgage payments and rising energy bills.
High fuel prices have a dramatic knock-on effort across the whole economy, raising the price of food and other essentials as manufacturers of everything from food to electrical goods face higher bills for electricity, transportation and raw materials.
Sounds serious, except . . . . . it probably isn't true.
Gas prices in Calgary, which are admittedly also tied to refining capacity in local areas, are in roughly the same place they were two years ago. Push the two year button at the top.
http://www.calgarygasprices.com/retail_price_chart.aspx
The truth is oil wouldn't be anywhere near $100 USA without the collapse of the USA dollar.
It's inflationary in the USA but, if you're pricing it in other currencies and you live in other places, the "rise" probably hasn't been much of a rise at all for the reasons cited.
Taxes are certainly a huge issue in Europe as an example. In Iran, the government is spending almost $20 billion a year importing gasoline to keep prices artificially low, which in turn is putting, according to an LA Times article last year, about 1,500 new cars a week on the streets of Tehran.
Cowperson
$100/Barrel so a guy could have a story for his grandkids!
