Will oil prices will come back down as additional supply hits the market, perhaps within a couple of years?

Question

Said to be the opinion of Philip Verleger, an economist and consultant, quoted in a Los Angeles Times article, "Speculating on why oil, gasoline prices are soaring" http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus25-2008jun25,0,2383398.column?page=2

Answer 1

I've been told that they will by people I respect but I still do not believe so.

I think that believing the gas prices are ever really going to go back down- to where they were (1.70 a gallon) is unrealistic and sort of the same thing as believing that a can of coke will be ten cents again or a comic book will cost sixty cents again when we discover a cheaper form of paper.

No- no matter what excuses we come up with about government, politics, the middle east relations, supply and demand, the enviornment...etc..it all really comes down to greed. It is the greed of the owners of the oil that makes the prices go up and it will be greed that keeps the prices up.

They may throw us a bone in a few months/ a year and "lower" prices from five something a gallon to four dollars and all the people will throw confetti in the air proclaiming relief when in fact the price is still way up. Just pay attention to what "high gas prices" were last year and in another year wait and see if, when the prices go back to that price (from a year ago), people aren't brainwashed to think that prices have gone back down.

It's all just greed and business strategy- that's all it is.

Answer 2

Prices aren't high because of a shortage, they are high because America is not respected. When we get a democratic in office and the election is over, and the troops are back home the price gouging will finally be taken care of by the government. They have their priorities and the Americans who are supporting the war aren't at the top of the list.

They speculate all the time but History tells us it is only speculation and the prices are always high during a war we can't win. Check out the times when the Vietnam war was going on, and you'll see it is a repeat of history. Speculators think they know it all but concequentlly, they act like they just fell off the turnip truck this morning.

Answer 3

no.  prices are here to stay as long as there is no viable alternative to oil -the demand will continue to grow even while new sources are found and addtl supplies are added -at this point or in the near future (2- 3 yrs) it is highly unlikely -you can actually say that this will continue for a time to come because many people are banking on it -

there is only one thing that would probably have an immediate relief on this situation and that would be if the Fed Reserve raised interest rates to 19% like back in the eighties to strengthen the US dollars buying power which is next to impossible in this current situation (oil is traded for USdollars )