OPEC: Is the big bad oil bogeyman irrelevant?

I’d say the answer is still no, but today’s market reaction to OPEC’s production cuts is a little surprising. Experts say that demand continues to fall in the U.S., which I find a little puzzling. I wonder if the decline is actually demand-related, or if there’s been a bigger shift to fuel-efficient vehicles.

One of the Midwest’s biggest oil wholesalers doesn’t see a floor in the falling oil market, either. In a conversation this week about gas prices falling under $2, QuikTrip spokesman Mike Thornbrugh said, “You know what? It could happen.

“And if you’re asking if QuikTrip would be happy if that happened, the answer is yes.”

6 Comments

  1. FirstAmendmentFan
    Posted October 24, 2008 at 2:23 pm | Permalink

    Is it a true drop in demand or is it the regained strength of the dollar that is driving the price down?

  2. Bill Wilson
    Posted October 24, 2008 at 2:49 pm | Permalink

    Most evidence points to the regained strength of the dollar, FAF.

  3. bth
    Posted October 24, 2008 at 7:42 pm | Permalink

    BOTH. The global recession is lowering demand worldwide AND the dollar has recovered a bit against the Euro.

  4. jdl535
    Posted October 24, 2008 at 8:14 pm | Permalink

    I’ve talked to other Gas Station owners and they all said to enjoy this, as they feel the price will go back over $4 early next year.

  5. bwilson
    Posted October 27, 2008 at 8:57 am | Permalink

    Well, when you look at the economic condition of the world and the recovery of the dollar, there’s only one factor that could stem the tide of oil’s decline:

    Coordinated speculation.

    The chances of that happening, unregulated, are probably something we’ll know more about the morning of Nov. 5.

  6. bth
    Posted October 27, 2008 at 9:50 pm | Permalink

    I’d love to see a concerted effort to develop wind power. And a great assist to that would be to build turbines here in the US instead of importing them.

    Gee – I wonder where we could find technology to do so – strong, light-weight composites, aerodynamics …