Is supply and demand causing gas prices to go up, or is it speculators in the commodities market?

Question

Is supply and demand causing gas prices to go up, or is it speculators in the commodities market?

Answer 1

i'll tell u what it is..it's our dollar. Because we are in so much debt the value of our dollar is going down .it coast more money to buy oil,gold and because the worlds resevre urrency is the dollar not oil is the us paying alot but the whole world

Answer 2

You tell me...  If speculators were indeed to blame, we would see accumulation of inventories.  We don't.  Inventories are, if anything, a little low, so there is no obvious evidence of large-scale speculation...

Answer 3

Both. Supply and demand and speculations are cousing gas prices to go up.

Richard

Answer 4

i would say a combination of both.  there is indeed an increasing demand for oil specially from india and china.  however, the economic slowdown of usa is forcing investors to speculate on other commodities, i.e. gold, silver, platinum, oil, and many more.

when the economy of usa picks up, oil prices may go down.

Answer 5

Supply and demand is causing prices to go up.

A leftward shift of the supply curve is causing prices to go up because of an increase in government regulations.

To be precise;

Congress has passed environmental legislation that has forced additives to be placed into gasoline which lower US global emissions. The result of the addition of additives mean that consumers pay for gas and additives which explain the spike of fuel prices. The link is to a government accountability office report titled :"Special Gasoline Blends Reduce Emissions and Improve Air Quality, but Complicate Supply and Contribute to Higher Prices".