Bruce Bullock: Price of gasoline rising because of investors
Gasoline prices are going up because investors are putting their money in oil, not because of any shortages, and this could mean prices will top $3 a gallon by July 4.
Writing in his blog, Energy IQ, Bruce Bullock — director of SMU's Maguire Energy Institute — says that "recent increases in oil prices do not reflect the fundamentals of market supply and demand. Demand remains depressed.
"The market is well supplied. However, a falling dollar, money flows into commodity markets, and indications of a nascent economic recovery have all conspired to drive the price higher.
"Market fundamentals would lead one to predict that we shouldn't see much more upside in the market. However, because oil is now tied to so many other factors, it is very difficult to say just how high it could go."
He recently talked to ABC News about the situation and what's at the root of the problem. (See video at right.)
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