Stephanie wrote:vbhoutex wrote:What I don't completely understand is why the Libyan crisis is spiking out oil prices as much as it is. Most of the oil out of Libya goes to Europe, not the US. I know the whole ME is in turmoil and that is causing some of the rise, but many seem to be blaming it on the Libyan crisis and I don't think that is the major cause for the US.
Honestly, I think that if there's an opening to increase oil prices, they will do it.

However, I must admit that what has been happening in the Mid East now can and will have profound affects on oil prices from here on out.
Regardless of whether most of the oil goes to Europe or the U.S., oil is a worldwide "commodity", therefore when one oil producing country goes into turmoil, oil prices go up everywhere. Now, because most goes to Europe, our prices are not going up as drastically as they are in Europe, but there is still the "oh sh--" moment.
Also of note, the prices we see at the pump now are just finally catching up to the Egypt crisis' beginning stages, because the $100 we paid for for a barrel of oil, we aren't getting that oil until sometime in the future. So even if rainbows formed all over the ME today, gas prices would continue to shoot up.
Right now, look for $4 a gallon very soon...if unrest spreads to Saudi Arabia (which it will be doing such in March), look for prices to breach the $5 a gallon mark. A couple investors from Wall Street were talking on the Glenn Beck show Tuesday night that in the worse case scenario, we could easily see $7 to $10 a gallon (but that would require something in Iran to happen, and something in Venezuela...which the latter is already starting to take place with Venezuela selling the best oil to China, and we are starting to get second rate crude).
GB also showed a facebook page, there will be a rally/demonstration in Saudi Arabia on March 20th. Al Qaeda is backing Libya's protesters...things are turning very badly, very quickly in the Mideast...and I'm afraid things are about to turn very anti-American in many of those countries. Democracy fails in every instance that a country or empire has tried to set one up. Our Founders realized this, so instead of setting us up as a Democracy, they set us up as a Republic.
In any regard, I expect protests to start in SA here very, very soon...and gas prices by midsummer (July/August) to be nearing or above the $5 a gallon mark. If we get oil prices to sit at $120 a barrel for 3 or 4 months, followed by a spike upwards, I (and many others) fear our economy will crash.