*** *** SPIKE IN GAS PRICES - US STOCKPILING FOR WAR *** ***

or the dollar dropping

We will find out shortly enough the reasons

smart observation


with a glut of oil supplies and oil/gas demand going down world wide in a deflationary crunch...



why would Congress seek authority to tap the US Petroleum Reserve ?



why ?

God I hope you're wrong. War in Iran will be WWIII. Its truly disturbing that there are people who want this.

Nope sorry. Contrary to popular opinion September 22 the dollar was worth less than it is right now and off its highs october 1sts of only 3%. The dollars volatility does not add up. If it did Oil would not have a differential from gas of 29%.

Yeah - I noticed too that gas prices here in North Texas have been shooting up in recent weeks. Last I checked today, some $2.50.

I don't ever remember seeing gas going UP at this time of year. Usually it's down for the holidays then goes back up in the late spring.

or nations trading oil in different currencies.

War with Persia is prophetic. The sooner we realize that the U.S. is modern day greece and Iran is Persia, the sooner things will begin to make sense.

good point on stockpiling


countries may be stockpiling oil reserves in anticipation of an Iran attack. Of course, you wont know the true reason for stockpiling until you look in the rearview mirror


in light of lower demand price spikes dont add up and its just not speculation because the dollar is still relatively strong

Xmas gas prices from last year are one dollar lower than right now

Gas in the north east typically goes up this time of year because they are switching to the winter blend.

here in so fl it was about 2.33 a week ago and now it is 2.66 the cheapest i have seen.

economy cant afford $80 / barrel oil

if it hits more, theres your doom folks.

about 2.55 in SE Georgia

You have that backwards. Prices in the Northeast go up in the spring in a switch to summer blend and they drop after labor day.

US and Israel reiterate to Moscow: Military option is on the table

US intelligence sources report indications of impending war preparations against Iran after Tehran's rejections of the UN-brokered proposal to ship its enriched uranium overseas for further enrichment. These sources reveal that the administration is seeking congressional authorization to open America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). Furthermore, the US-Israeli joint US-Israel Juniper Cobra ballistic exercise is in full swing. Finally, US and Israel officials have been instructed to warn Moscow that the military option is still on the table if Iran's nuclear program is not halted by diplomatic means.

[link to www.debka.com]

Agreed. People, especially in the westernized world, does not understand what they stand to lose...

Small spike in oil price cause big spike in gas price for a simple reasons: because they foresee future BIG spike in oil price, and know the gas price can't follow them or the economy will completely crash.
Remember when oil was at 150$?
Gas was NOT at 6$ per gallon in USA, not even 1,50 per liter here in EU. But today, with oil at 80$, we have gas at 1,33 per liter!

They are cashing for the future, when they won't cash.

Hope my english was enough to explain ;-)

FROM STRATFOR


IRANIAN OFFICIALS SAID THEY WILL SUBMIT A COUNTERPROPOSAL to the P-5+1 plan on Iran's nuclear enrichment program on Thursday. Tehran clearly hopes that the counterproposal and ensuing negotiations will buy it time, but a number of forces appear to be shifting on the global stage that might change Iran's calculus.

For one thing, U.S. National Security Adviser Gen. James Jones was in Moscow on Wednesday, and the future of Iran was one of the items up for discussion. Jones came to Moscow with a clear message: As far as the United States is concerned, all options are on the table with regard to Iran. So far, Moscow has not considered U.S. threats of military action against Iran and its nuclear program as legitimate (and has quietly laughed at the idea of sanctions). But the arrival of such a power player with this message could change Russia's calculations.

"It appears that all options -- including military action -- may truly be under consideration by the United States."

Backing Jones up on Wednesday was Israeli opposition leader and former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who carried the same message to Moscow. Israel, too, considers all options to be on the table, and long has expressed the view that imposing additional sanctions against Iran would be meaningless. But Israel also sent a very clear message to Moscow by having Defense Minister Ehud Barak meeting with leaders in Central Europe -- driving home the message that the Israelis know how to prod the Russians where they are most tender. There is no shortage of players hostile to Moscow along Russia’s Western periphery, and Israel easily could supply weapons to Europe, should it be so inclined. Israeli diplomatic moves were not limited to Russia, however: Israel and France also engaged in talks on Wednesday, and the situation with Iran was discussed.

Meanwhile, in the Mediterranean, the United States and Israel are conducting their largest and most complex bilateral ballistic missile defense exercises -- exercises that were uncharacteristically delayed by a week before they started.

On the domestic front, word has reached STRATFOR that the government is laying the groundwork to permit the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to be tapped. The SPR, which sets aside more than 700 million barrels of crude oil, was designed expressly to keep the country running in the event of a war in an oil-producing region.

With all of these processes in motion, it is clear that a great deal of preparation is taking place. The Israelis have made it clear that they have no use for a soft approach to Iran, but they need the United States on board. The Americans would prefer to avoid taking military action against Iran -- the impact on oil prices and the fragile global recovery would be profound -- but Washington cannot possibly make gasoline sanctions work if Russia refuses to cooperate. But Moscow has more leverage than just the threat of breaking sanctions. For years, Russia has threatened for years to sell S-300 strategic air defense systems to Iran, a move that would greatly complicate any air strikes against that country.

With so many players pursuing their disparate aims, there is no single clear outcome that we are prepared to predict. There is clearly pressure building on Iran, but there appears to be a lack of clarity among the actors as to who is capable and willing to do what. From our perspective, it appears that all options -- including military action – truly might be under consideration by the United States. It is not yet clear that Iran has adjusted to this, but talks between Washington and Moscow are certainly not a comforting thought to Tehran.

For the moment, it is unclear which statements and actions amount to posturing, and which indicate intent. Nor is it clear where the tripwires lie. This means that we must watch and wait for the next whiff of intelligence. For the countries in play, it means that the negotiations are exceedingly complex, and that the chance of miscalculation is high.



[link to www.stratfor.com]

The US SPR which contains 727 million barrels of petroleum is only opened in time of war. Under an agreement signed with Israel in 1975, Washington undertakes to supply Israel with its fuel needs for five years in an emergency.

Word of these apparent war preparations appeared Saturday Oct. 31, the day after Iran's senior nuclear negotiator delivered a counter-proposal to the UN-brokered plan to the IAEA in Vienna which excised its main object, which was to reduce the enriched uranium stocks in hand for Iran to make a nuclear bomb.

[link to www2.debka.com]