The reason isn't due to the oil companies pumping profits (no pun intended), but more so because demand is outstripping supply.  India and China are increasing their oil usage exponentially at the moment, non-OPEC countries aren't increasing the amount they're producing so the OPEC countries are having a harder time keeping up with demand.  This pushes the prices higher.  This along with the limited supply of oil, it's bound to happen.

My car died two days before christmas, I have an unregistered motorbike too.  I've given up on the idea of registering it due to the current prices, even its consumption would be more expensive than I'd be willing to pay.  I've taken up bicycle riding again.  That and public transport do me these days.

I just realised my post may not have been entirely clear, so I've edited it and just posting this reply.  When I said I've taken up bike riding, I meant on a bicycle.  Most of my trips are either to/from the city in which case I can get public transport and all the shops I visit are only a few km's away so the bicycle can get me there quite nicely.  Or at least it will when I get my fitness out of its current state which I'm sure most doctors would call "he shouldn't technically be alive".

The US has been lucky that gas prices have been relatively low.  That's because gas is subsidized through the petrodollar, but now countries like Iran have gone completely off the petrodollar and have been selling oil in Euros and Yen.

Look at the prices of gas in Europe - anywhere from 4-$7 gallon.

Your anger is placed at the wrong people.  CEOs are part of the problem.  If you want to place the blame, the majority goes to the Fed.  They are the ones destroying the value of the dollar which causes oil prices to go up.  A lot of oil is imported so when the dollar goes down foreigners want to be paid more in the depreciated dollar.

Congress is to blame too.  They give subsidises to oil companies and when they make too much profit they want to tax them.  It's all part of a political charade. 

You need to take a look at the price of commodites.  Now that the dollar is weak, stuff like precious metals, food, and other raw materials are coming up their all time high.

Here are some charts to help illustrate the relationship between a falling dollar and rising commodity prices:

-RR

In SA the petrol price is reaching R10/L,($1.30/L) which is really bad.I have a motorbike,and even though it's vastly preferably to the consumption of my friend's car,I only use it when I have to. Taking the car to our usual hang out costs the same in petrol as the whole nights drinks.

I'm really afraid I'll end up getting some little, slow, super economical bike.

Just about all currencies are depreciating with respect to gold.  Gold value is relatively stable since you have to mine it and process it compared to fiat currency (not backed by anything).

Gold is the easiest way to protect yourself from inflation.  If you can't buy gold, silver is for smaller budgets and it has greater potential to go up.

 

I believe this is what is going to happen.  In the late 70s we had high oil prices and high food prices, but the Fed chairman Volcker raised interest rates to 20% to bring on the recession. Back then we didn't borrow from foreign countries, so most of the inflation was contained in the US.  Now China, Japan, the UK, and many other countries own our debt, so when the dollar keeps on going down they will want to get out.  Now the Fed funds rate is 2% which is going depreciate the dollar more.  If the Fed raises rates it will wreak havoc on businesses, so they are likely only to lower rates which will lead to hyperinflation.

 

Great firm.  I'm a client and have done well with Peter's predictions.  He was right about all the financial bubbles starting from the NASDAQ, up to the housing bubble, and rising commodity prices.  He's had to deal with a lot of crap coming from the panelists that try to shout him down and sell their propaganda that US stocks are a good buy.  If you look at the stock market priced in gold, it's been down since 2001.  You were better off buying gold than investing in the Dow.

Stock Market Crash - Robert Prechter on Bloomberg explains

 

 

Yep time to stock on food now before it gets more expensive.  There are food shortages around the world, and when the dollar drops more foreign countries will have more purchasing power to buy up the food.

Here are some of my favorite Youtube videos:

 

 All the panelists are shilling for the housing market while Peter speaks the truth of the credit bubble.  Ben Stein is in this one.

 

 Peter Schiff talks about his book Crash Proof

 

 

 Peter Schiff talks about gold

 

Basic advice:  Get out of the US dollar as much as you can.  Buy precious metals and foreign commodities, and stay close to your friends and family in case of a financial meltdown.

-RR

 

No, but I am not in the same income bracket as Hollywood movie stars or pro athletes so the price of fuel is becoming an intolerable burden for the average wage earner.  The recent price trends are more than a minor inconvenience as almost all modes of transportation are oil dependent, and due to the distances involved in modern day commuting, few alternatives are practical much less affordable, hence my anger.

I've seen the charts and graphs with their explanations of supply and demand and the changing world market, etc but I've yet to see anyone make an attempt to factor in the effect of a very arbitrary cause of high oil prices...human greed.

 

 

Okay.... we have successfully established how the price of fuel is determined...now what ?

Those of us who will eventually die of starvation and hypothermia will have to express our gratitude for those windmills in advance. 

The prices of stuff (commodities) will go up due to inflation (increase of the money supply).  Worldwide there is excessive inflation, but the central banks that are doing the right thing are raising rates to tighten the money supply.  Supply/demand has an effect on prices but not as much as inflation.  I don't believe we should have central banks, but since we can't just overthrow them you will have to follow the flow of money to protect yourself.

The government lies about inflation.  The core inflation is calculated by excluding food and energy.  What has gone up the most in the last couple years - food and energy.

I have some food charts as I do financial research and collect charts and graphs:

http://foodcrisis.wordpress.com/

New Economics of Hunger
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/04/26/ST2008042602333.html?sid=ST2008042602333

 

-RR

Also, our debt used to be mostly in 30 year bonds.  So if we increased the fed funds rate to 20%, the interest on the national debt would still be affordable if our national debt were long term debt.  Since a large portion of our national debt is much shorter in term, a 20% fed funds rate would likely cause the US to default on its debt.  So doing what it takes to fix the inflation is not going to work this time.

Also, our current 2% fed funds rate is creating more imbalances.  Lets say you want to loan someone money.  Inflation is 2% and you charge someone 6% interest.  That means you have a real return of 4%, since inflation reduced the purchasing power of your money by 2%.  So the formula for real return rate is interest rate minus inflation.  If inflation is 6% and you charge 6% interest, then you are letting someone borrow your money for free, because you have no real return. 

Now lets look at the current situation.  Inflation is probably higher than 6%, but lets use that number anyway.  The fed funds rate is 2%.  The real return rate is the interest rate (2%) minus inflation (6%), which is -4%.  So effectively, creditors are loosing money.  No business would want to operate like this unless it wants to go out of business.  But a country can get away with it as long as it can influence the money supply and create more inflation.  But we are dependent on foreign countries to accept a negative rate of return on their savings.  If they sell off their short term debt, it will likely put the US into hyperinflation.

Gold does very well when real interest rates are negative.  Part of the above insight is due to me reading Christopher Laird's paid subscription at prudentsquirrel.com.  He tends to be good at looking at near term issues, but I trust Peter Schiff for a more accurate long term view.  I will probably be experimenting with a small garden this summer, mainly for learning purposes.  If I need that skill, then at least I will have some practice, and potentially help others.
 

This might help:

From http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=$WTIC&p=W&yr=3&mn=0&dy=0&id=p41488110776

The dashed line is light crude oil.  The line going up along with it is the Reuters/Jefferies-CRB Index.  The line going down is the USD.  The CRB index contains oil, but oil and natural gas only account for 18% of the entire index.  Other components of the CRB index include grains, industrials (copper and cotton), livestock, precious metals, and softs (cocoa, coffee, orange juice, and sugar).

So, how much of the increase is exclusively supply/demand for just oil (and not other stuff), or is demand for everything going up, or is inflation driving all of this?  I suspect the last two items.  There are many economies outside of the US that are growing at a fast rate.  This increases demand.  The falling USD is compounding our problem.

I agree with what you are saying.  I listen to a wide variety of experts, and the ones that understand central banking, interest rates, money supply tend to come up with the same conclusions.  Peter Schiff says if we have a collapse here the rest of the world will suffer as well, but the asian economies will rebound relatively quickly.  I have no hope for America in the long term.  That is if I want to accept a lower standard of living.  It looks like the big government candidates Obama/Clinton/McCain will take the presidency and on with that will come higher taxation on top of the burden of more inflation.

I see this as part of a bigger picture.  The bankers want to eventually destroy the US dollar so that they can have a North American Union and a new currency called the Amero.  The plans are already on their way with a NAFTA superhighway and more bureaucratic managed trade.  To make this plan work the powers that be will have to orchestrate it after the people have been significantly weakened that they can't fight back.  I'm a believer in the New World Order conspiracy.

Jim Rogers the billionaire investor has gotten out of the dollar and moved his family to Singapore.  He predicted the commodities rally in the 70s where he made most of his money, and now he's doing the same with asian investments.  I'd like to invest in the chinese market if I have enough before going broke.

Marc Faber, Jim Tice, Doug Casey, Jim Puplava are some of the other experts I listen to.  Puplava's free weekly podcast at Financial Sense Newshour is the best overview to understand what's going on in the global economy.

I don't know where the best place to live would be that would have a comparable standard of living that o the US.  Eventually I would want to get out.  I see it like Peter Schiff does - the american economy is like the Titanic sinking, get out while you can.

-RR