Complain about a product or service

Pipeline Explosion Sends Oil Prices Surging

Gas prices not affected yet

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 29, 2007

• Gas Prices Trickle Down • Why Are Oil Prices Falling? • Labor Day Gas Prices Up a Penny • Gas Prices Fall for 37 Days • Gas Prices Slide 8 Percent from Record • Gas Prices Creep Down • Oil Price Trend May Be Good News For Consumers • Gasoline Drops Below $3.90 a Gallon • Gas Prices Pull Back Slowly • Oil Prices Fall As Storm Misses Rigs • Latest Gas Price Round-Up • 'Run Your Car On Water' Scheme Could Leave Consumers All Wet • Unregulated Energy Trading Blamed for Much of Gas Price Gusher • Airlines Join Effort To Limit Oil Speculators • Questions Raised about MyGallons.com • 'Hypermiling' Is Dangerous, Says AAA • Struggling Drivers Blame Washington for High Gas Prices • What’s Really Fueling Those Sky-High Oil Prices • Credit Card Fees at the Pump are a 'Hidden Tax' on Consumers • Survey: 3 Out of 4 Angry About High Gas Prices • $2 A Gallon Gas Possible, Analysts Tell Congress • Speculators Buy More Oil Contracts Than Oil Companies • Saudis to Pump More Oil • Limiting Oil Speculators Gains Ground • Congress To Probe Oil Price Spike • Oil Market 'Saturated,' Iran Claims • Feds See No Relief from High Gas Prices • High Gas Prices Could Mean Lower Insurance Rates • High Gas Prices Good For Kia, Honda • Gas Prices Rip Past $4 and Keep Climbing • Administration, OPEC See Different Causes Of Oil Surge • Feds Probing Possible Oil Market Manipulation • Beware of Fuel Sippers Sipping High-Test • Retailers Respond to High Gas Prices with Discounts, Promotions • Rushing Into a Smaller Car Too Soon May Not Save Money • Hybrid Sales and Prices Climb in Lockstep with Gas Prices • Truckers Bemoan Burden of High Diesel Costs • Gas Prices Biting into Worker Productivity • Consumers Warned About Gas-Saving Schemes • Is Tony Soprano Controlling Gas Prices? • Oil & Gas: The New Bubble • Critics: New Federal Gas Mileage Standard Falls Short • Consumers Feeling Pain of Skyrocketing Gas Prices • New Gas Price Record Forecasts Expensive Summer Driving Season --- • More ...

After flirting with the $100-a-barrel level, oil prices were on their way down again – until today. News of an explosion, interrupting service to four key Canadian pipelines, has sent oil prices surging at least $4 a barrel.

Two of the pipelines, which supply U.S. refiners with about 15 percent of their imported crude oil, remain closed, placing an immediate supply crimp on refinery operations.

As a result, the price of a barrel of crude oil jumped to $95.17 on the New York Mercantile Exchange and is now almost 50 percent higher than it was at this time last year.

Gasoline prices normally lag behind oil’s price fluctuations. Prices at the pump – which rose rapidly earlier this month, were only now beginning to ease a bit as oil prices receded from the $100-a-barrel mark.

In fact, oil prices had fallen nearly eight percent during the first three days of this week, responding to indications that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries would continue to increase output to meet rising global demand.

Another factor that could push oil prices still higher in the coming days was news that the U.S. economy achieved much stronger than expected growth in the third quarter. Though many economist have expressed fears the U.S. economy is headed for a recession, the U.S. government reports Gross Domestic Product rose at a revised rate of 4.9 percent in the July through September quarter, the strongest growth in four years.

A rising economic growth rate normally translates into increased demand for oil products, putting upward pressure on prices.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Back to the top |