The $1.50 plateau has been broken in Richmond.
Gas went below $50 a barrel yesterday and it has stayed at $49 and change today.
Crude oil fell for a third day after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries deferred a decision to reduce output until its next meeting on Dec. 17.
What I find the most amusing in all of this is the Saudi insistence that $75/bbl is a “fair” price.
Prices around $75 a barrel would be “fair†and would support investment in new fields, Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said over the weekend. The global market is oversupplied by more than 2 million barrels a day, Iranian Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari said.
When oil was up around $147/bbl, the Saudi oil ministers insisted they could not control the price of oil, and that it was the fault of speculators. They said nothing about a fair price. Funny, nobody’s blaming speculators on the collapse of crude oil prices. But then, Saudi Arabia only needs oil to be at $30/bbl for their purposes. It’s Iran ($75-100/bbl) and Venezuela ($65/bbl) that are hurting the most. And may we say: Good.
I’m shedding no tears for the oil ticks. I saved more than $100 driving to New Jersey for the holiday last weekend, and I’m saving on my weekly commute again, as well. Which is not to say I’m not going to get a fuel-efficient vehicle next time around. I’m counting on the government to bail out Chrysler, and for Chrysler to make a hybrid Jeep Wrangler. That way I can have my cake and eat it, too.
$46.96 a barrel now, how sweet it is especially knowing that the mullahs in Iran and Chavez are hurting.