I am in the business of making people money and am keenly aware of world markets, but when I saw $4 for a gallon of gas I was stunned. At the end of 2006 the price of regular unleaded was roughly $2.25 a gallon, which means it’s gone up about 70% in the past 18 months. A barrel of oil used to make gasoline has skyrocketed from $25 a barrel in 2002 to around $130 a barrel. Clearly, a major shift has occurred with our country’s most important source of energy.
Petroleum is pervasive, used for plastics, fertilizers, chemicals, etc…, and of course gasoline for our vehicles. Changes in who is consuming oil and who is supplying oil have caused a shift in the “perception” of the world’s oil market.
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