Is there a "Dubya Premium" in place for current price of oil?

[Dd714]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye48

A lot of the increase we've seen in the price of crude oil has been due to the war in the middle-east...[/b]

I wouldn't say alot, I would say a little - demand is the major factor (India and China), natural disasters (Katrina, etc), OPEC market strategies, speculators playing the market, low refinement capability. All those factors, plus political instability. Actually the threat of violence in Saudi Arabia is a factor, not Iraq or Iran. If you see a major terrorist strike in SA expect oil prices to raise. There have been wars and serious instability in the middle east for probably 40 of the last 50 years however so it's been factored into the price for many years.

What happened to the arguments 3 years ago that Bush was having the war to decrease oil prices?

[nativeDallasite]

Originally Posted by Dd714

I wouldn't say alot, I would say a little - demand is the major factor (India and China), natural disasters (Katrina, etc), OPEC market strategies, speculators playing the market, low refinement capability. All those factors, plus political instability. Actually the threat of violence in Saudi Arabia is a factor, not Iraq or Iran. If you see a major terrorist strike in SA expect oil prices to raise. There have been wars and serious instability in the middle east for probably 40 of the last 50 years however so it's been factored into the price for many years.

What happened to the arguments 3 years ago that Bush was having the war to decrease oil prices?

Don't forget the weak American dollar. Oil is traded worldwide in dollars and the dollar has lost a lot of value over the last year or two relative to other major currencies like the euro, the pound, and even the Canadian dollar.