NBC Follows ABC's Lead, Wall Street Speculators and Oil Companies to Blame for High Gas Prices
While ABC's World News declared "a big chunk of the pain at the pump is Wall Street's fault" on Thursday, on NBC's Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams similarly announced: "The problem is gas prices are largely set by commodities traders, also known these days as speculators."
Correspondent Miguel Almaguer reported on "backlash from both sides of the register" as a sound bite played of Los Angeles gas station owner Andre Van Der Valk ranting: "Consumers should be very, very angry and very challenging of the oil companies. That's where it all starts."
Almaguer listed reasons for the boost in cost, conveniently leaving out Obama administration policies: "The daily spike in gas is blamed mostly on unrest in the Middle East and a rash of refinery shutdowns, but oil production is up and demand at a 15-year low. Some analysts say speculators and investors are pushing up prices, too."
Oil trader Dan Dicker backed up Almaguer's assertion: "The main reason that nobody talks about, but is really true, is about all of these financial inputs into oil price."
President Obama was mentioned in the piece, but only in the context of him telling the American people "there's no quick fix." In a clip of the President that followed, Obama proclaimed: "You know, we can't just drill our way to lower gas prices. We're not going to overnight solve the problem of world oil markets. There is no silver bullet."
Here is full transcript of the February 23 report:
7:01PM ET SEGMENT:
WILLIAMS: While Americans slept, gas prices went up another three and a half cents. It's not a supply problem, right now there's plenty on hand. And it's not a demand problem, we're using much less gas than we do during the summer months. The problem is gas prices are largely set by commodities traders, also known these days as speculators. And with just the hint of military action in the Middle East between Iran and Israel and a few other factors, it drives up the price of the one liquid that can be the lynch pin of the U.S. economy. The one thing that can affect everybody and make everything more expensive, these pump prices are getting the attention of a lot of Americans. Today that included the President. It's where we begin tonight with NBC's Miguel Almaguer in L.A. Miguel, good evening.
MIGUEL ALMAGUER: Brian, good evening. We found a bargain for you tonight, $4.35 a gallon for regular at this gas station. A deal, because so many stations are charging upwards of $5 a gallon. The gas station owner here telling us he's been forced to raise his prices every day, sometimes every hour.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: $96.92.
ALMAGUER: The pinch at the pump is putting the squeeze on drivers everywhere. Today, backlash from both sides of the register. Andre Van Der Valk owns three gas stations, a Chevron, Texaco, and this Shell.
ANDRE VAN DER VALK: Consumers should be very, very angry and very challenging of the oil companies. That's where it all starts.
ALMAGUER: From California, where the average price for unleaded gas spiked 11 cents in two days.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: $110 Bucks.
ALMAGUER: To New York, where the state average is edging close to $4 a gallon.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN B: I think it is out of control.
ALMAGUER: Anger over what AAA predicts could be record highs this summer, a projected national average of $4.35 a gallon, with some states topping $5. The President today in Miami said there's no quick fix.
BARACK OBAMA: You know, we can't just drill our way to lower gas prices. We're not going to overnight solve the problem of world oil markets. There is no silver bullet.
ALMAGUER: The issue quickly becoming political.
NEWT GINGRICH: I've developed a program for American energy so no future president will ever bow to a Saudi king again and so every American can look forward to $2.50 a gallon gasoline.
ALMAGUER: The daily spike in gas is blamed mostly on unrest in the Middle East and a rash of refinery shutdowns, but oil production is up and demand at a 15-year low. Some analysts say speculators and investors are pushing up prices, too.
DAN DICKER [OIL TRADER]: The main reason that nobody talks about, but is really true, is about all of these financial inputs into oil price.
ALMAGUER: With the national average for a gallon of regular now at $3.61 a gallon, up 42 cents from a year ago today, it's driven some commuters in Chicago to down size from four wheels to two.
ADAM JUREVIS [MOTORCYCLE STORE OWNER]: I have a lot of customers that come in that own larger vehicles, SUVs, that come in and say that they need a cheaper alternative to get to work.
ALMAGUER: For some, a scooter will have to do for now, but it's a short-term fix to a long-term problem. As you can see behind me, gas prices are only on the rise. Brian.
WILLIAMS: Miguel Almaguer in Los Angeles starting us off. Thanks.
- Kyle Drennen's blog
- Login to post comments
Comments
Hello everyone
Submitted by deadeyedan on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 5:53pm.
It's the oil companies and the speculators when a D is in office but the administration when an R is in office.
Our heads are doing so much turning around listening to all of this small wonder they call it "spin".
LIBEARALISM - government of the people by the theories and for the ideologists
I'm sorry,...
Submitted by BBallleaper on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 5:54pm.
but the only other face I've ever seen that looks more vacant and moronic is that of Alfred E. Neuman. Williams may have enough intellect to clean rest-area bathrooms, but reading off a teleprompter is quite a stretch for this cretin.
Can't wait for summertime
Submitted by WarEagle66 on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 6:02pm.
Can't wait for summertime prices. Maybe I could hitch a ride as Michelle's "luggage boy" on one of her really awesome trips.
Thanks War...
Submitted by bigdaddy on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 6:19pm.
...that reminds me that our costs to send Moochelle in supersonic comfort in "Air Force Schrew" are going to go up.
$5 per gallon to get rid of Baracko???
Submitted by bigdaddy on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 6:15pm.
Sounds like a fair trade.
I guess if you repeat the lie enough
Submitted by bassndude on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 6:23pm.
There it is again. The blatant lie that speculators control the price of oil. These people are either idiots or liers. My bet is on the latter.
Save a SeAL, club a liberal/troll!!
The democrats tell so many
Submitted by ConservativeRex on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 6:31pm.
The democrats tell so many lies it even getting difficult for them to keep track of them.
Our sorry Governor (Perdue) raised the gasoline tax ~40 cents a gallon, then promptly said she was going to drag up!
That is the source of all the ills of gasoline prices:taxes. But do you think the idiots (majority) that put this empty suit in office are about to listen to anything other than "it's the OIL companies fault!!"
I am still of the same opinion I am when I lived in Texas ie: let 'em freeze in the dark!
Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum
You're Grounded...
Submitted by JRobertGiles on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 6:37pm.
It's hard to stay grounded when you're chasing popularity instead of virtue. (Hint, hint Obama!) Please enjoy and share the following article. Refuse to be silenced!
Have a great weekend!
http://tinyurl.com/7sn5q8y
J Robert Giles
If anyone is making a serious
Submitted by rbosque on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 6:54pm.
If anyone is making a serious killing here it's the government who's revenue from gasoline taxes exceeds the profits from the oil companies. Many gas station owners operate on a thin margin and many operators go out of business.
This is nothing more than the Obamabots helping their Marxist master out.
If anyone is making a serious
Submitted by rbosque on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 6:54pm.
If anyone is making a serious killing here it's the government who's revenue from gasoline taxes exceeds the profits from the oil companies. Many gas station owners operate on a thin margin and many operators go out of business.
This is nothing more than the Obamabots helping their Marxist master out.
When the Feds are chaotic and
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 7:14pm.
When the Feds are chaotic and set policies to limit oil exploration of course prices are going to rise. Some of it is speculation but not all. Dont look at the man behind the curtain.
In your "analysis" you say
Submitted by cathartic1 on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 8:02pm.
In your "analysis" you say that Obama's policies should be to blame for high gas prices, but yet you don't cite a single one. Which is weird, since others have argued that because of those policies, we have more gas than we know what to do with and are, in fact, exporting it: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/02/21/139521/once-again-speculators-behi...That's a very strong point you make.
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 8:45pm.
"Other's have argued": I hope you don't mind if I use that one on occasion.
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
A link to McClatchy, cathartic? ---
Submitted by matthewdean on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 8:49pm.
Now there's an unbiased source.
MD
Try again
Submitted by Unsane on Sat, 02/25/2012 - 9:01pm.
Please educate yourself on the oil industry, and on fundamental economics, before you make a fool of yourself again.
I can think of one good reason we export a lot of gasoline: because in many instances oil producing countries don't have any refineries of their own or very little refining capacity. Venezuela, for instance, has much of its heavy sour crude exported to nearby Caribbean islands and the southern United States because those are the only places in the world capable of refining Venezuelan crude.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
It's too easy to bash Wall Street, not the government!
Submitted by Mary Louise Turner on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 8:25pm.
For the lazy "journalists" who just parrot the White House/Democrat talking points, it's much too easy to bash Wall Street and oil companies. If they'd bother to get away from Democrat spin, they'd see that the real villains are the regulation-crazy environmental lobbies and tax-obsessed politicians. But that, of course, would lay the blame right at the feet of their idol Ears...
Gosh the last time gas was $4.00 a gallon it was
Submitted by ohio granny on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 8:49pm.
The last time gas was $4.00 a gallon the democrats all assured us it was George Bush's fault. So how come this time it is Wall Street and speculators and not Obama's fault? Has the statue of limitations finally run out on blaming President Bush for everything bad?
If only Obama were in bed
Submitted by Rousse on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 9:12pm.
If only Obama were in bed with the oil companies!
Obama is in bed with Soros
Submitted by Radical1979 on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 10:21pm.
who has a hell of a lot of money invested in oil.
But we can be their 'best
Submitted by killa37 on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 10:28pm.
But we can be their 'best customer', right??
Vindicated Predictions..
Submitted by ThePickle on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 9:32pm.
Well this only vindicates what I said would happen when these prices started to rise. I predicted that the media would...
Firstly...attempt to soft play this rise as "typical" (and they did)
Secondly.....absolve Obama from any blame (and they did)
Thirdly....predicted the return of the "Wall Street" and "Big Oil" demonetization
and here you have it.
It's nice to know that the MSM remains as predictable as ever.
If these prices are the fault
Submitted by Shreve on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 10:25pm.
If these prices are the fault of the Obama administration, then the prices in 2008, or other times, were the fault of the Bush administration. It wasn't then, and isn't now.
No effect ehh?
Submitted by ThePickle on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 10:53pm.
So your saying that nothing that the Obama administration has done has had an effect on the price of gasoline?
So the moratorium on offshore drilling had no effect?
The veto of the Keystone pipeline, causing further uncertainty in the market, had no effect?
Wow....I guess when the MSM tell you to move along, that there's nothing to see here, you just find the nearest pile of sand and bury your head up to the shoulders.
The price waS 1.80 when Obama
Submitted by MrSnuggles on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 10:56pm.
The price waS 1.80 when Obama took office,so yes that price was bush's responsibility. Just as Obama and his policies are responsible for todays high prices. Remember when he said he would prefer that prices rose more gradually? High prices are what Obama wants, lest his green energy companies go under.
"then the prices in 2008, or
Submitted by NC Cop on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 11:00pm.
"then the prices in 2008, or other times, were the fault of the Bush administration. It wasn't then, and isn't now."
Might want to tell that to the dems and media (no difference) because they were only too happy to blame Bush and the Republicans for gas prices a few years ago.
One-Sided
Submitted by IrateNate on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 11:09pm.
Fact #1 - the government makes roughly $0.45 per gallon in taxes. Fact #2 - the refiner makes $0.08 per gallon (average) in profit.
But I always forget that, in Fantasy Land, cheap gasoline is a basic human right and an 8% profit by oil companies on gas is evil.
Silly me.
It Ceases To Amaze
Submitted by HardRightTurn on Sat, 02/25/2012 - 12:08am.
How many of Obama's foes are responsible for high gas prices (and any and every other policy failure of the left). Bush, the Koch Bros, Wall Street -- the usual lineup of collectivist boogeymen.
I would gladly temporarily pay $10 a gallon for gas if that is what it will take to get Obama out of office. I would just consider it an involuntary campaign contribution.
To more fully comprehend the Left, one must read “Leftism As Psychopathy” by John Ray, M.A., Ph.D. Caution, it might scare you a little bit.
http://jonjayray.tripod.com/psycho.html
This is where I came in.
Submitted by The Vet on Sat, 02/25/2012 - 9:28am.
We have officially come full circle on the Media Bias and they are repeating themselves.
The CFTC investigated oil prices in 2008 and reported, shocka, it is all supply and demand.
I linked that already way back when.
Looks like we have come full circle, the Media may be repeating itself, but I don't wanna. So long folks. It's been fun. Catch you next time we come around on the MSM merry-go-round..
that might be part of it
Submitted by proudamerican1990 on Sat, 02/25/2012 - 11:34am.
But Mr. Obama's lack of action and leadership is certainly more damaging to the wallets of American citizens.
How the times have changed
Submitted by CobraMan on Sat, 02/25/2012 - 12:17pm.
Not that long ago, "oil speculators" were the people who drilled for the crude oil, now, thanks to the "modern media," they're the ones who buy it. That's rather ironic, as the "modern" speculators buys the oil at relatively cheap prices, so how does that equate to higher prices at the pump? It doesn't, of course, for that's the fault of limited production and storage capabilities, but let's not inform the general pubic about that. They, meaning we, just might demand that more refineries and storage facilities be built, and that's something that the environmentalists, like Obama, would never, ever allow.
When it comes to the supply and demand relationship, the Democrats sure love to restrict the supply side, just as Reagan noticed decades ago. That's why he successfully initiated supply-side economic polices in the 80's, and why the democrats hated it so much. Well, we see just how well Obama's "demand-side" economic policies are working: higher prices for everybody! That's "fair," isn't it?
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
Interesting
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Sat, 02/25/2012 - 3:20pm.
"Modern speculators buys the oil at relatively cheap price". Do tell; where are these speculators buying their oil cheaper then anyone else? This is fascinating.
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
On the open market
Submitted by CobraMan on Sun, 02/26/2012 - 11:53am.
They buy it on the open market, just like everyone else, and they pay the same price for it as everyone else. On the open market, the oil is relatively cheap. It's the refined product that is expensive. Can you get 53 gallons (a barrel) of, say, gasoline, for 100 dollars, or whatever the going rate for crude oil is these days? No? Well, there ya go.
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
Seriously?
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Sun, 02/26/2012 - 4:07pm.
That's your argument? Oil is "relatively cheap" to the end product, gasoline, when someone buys it at the pump? Cows are relatively cheap as compared to the filet you get a fancy restaurant. Coffee in Brazil is relatively cheap as compared to the fancy end product you drink at Starbucks. That's no argument.
Oil speculators don't buy crude oil at "relatively cheap" prices. They buy oil at market prices, whether it's spot or futures related. End products are always more expensive then the raw material. When someone buys or sells raw materials, no one ever says, "Boy, you got a great deal on that RAW MATERIAL because it's so relatively cheap as compared to what the end product is going to cost."
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
Technically, oil futures are
Submitted by big.league.slider on Sun, 02/26/2012 - 12:53am.
Technically, oil futures are not traded on Wall Street. In the US, they are traded on NYMEX, which is not located on Wall Street. Plus, much of the trading activity in crude oil takes place outside of the US. So only blaming US traders is a bit misguided.
As for the notion of speculators only driving up crude prices, this ignores the fact that speculators also drive crude prices down. These MSM clowns fail to understand that the only reason futures trading works is because there is a balance between those betting prices will go up and those betting prices will drop.
Most importantly, where is the government's share of blame. For every dollar of profit the oil companies make, Obama takes a 35% cut. Plus there are excise and sales taxes, which far exceed the profits oil companies make.