Our system asks us to forego common sense. Here is why I believe there is an oil glut and why there is a fraudulent price gouging of Americans. These high gasoline prices are a fraud on us all.
Oil glut, not a shortage
Our corporations and economic titans are taking Americans to the cleaners. Those with pricing power worldwide, the corporations that control our oil corporations, and the economy as a whole are using legal fraud. Worse, we have a media that too often parrot what these corporations want you to believe. They want you to forget you have intellect and common sense. They want you to forget math. The theft by inflation is across the board, but gasoline prices make it very obvious.
We have very high gasoline prices. Even with that price, Americans have only dropped their usage marginally. Why? Because they still have stimulus money and some wage increase money.
Middle-class and poor Americans cannot save or buy more things they want or increase their asset base. Why? Because those with pricing power will use inflation to take it all away. And the media and all of those who should inform us appropriately are failing us.
The fallacy is that there is an oil shortage. Here is something counterintuitive to many. Putin’s war should reduce oil prices.
China, India, and others are now buying cheap Russian oil off-market. The Economic Times reports that India is purchasing much of Russia’s crude.
Indian refiners bought 18% of all the crude Russia exported in May, up from 1% before the Ukraine invasion, with Reliance Industries NSE -1.40 %’ Jamnagar refinery sourcing 27% of its needs from there, a Helsinki-based research agency has said.
Russian crude oil imports into the European Union fell by 18% in May, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CRECA) said in a report on Monday. “However, this reduction was taken up by India and the United Arab Emirates, leading to no net change in Russia’s crude oil export volumes.”
China also increased its petroleum purchases, as detailed by CNBC.
China is quietly ramping up purchases of oil from Russia at bargain prices, according to shipping data and oil traders who spoke to Reuters, filling the vacuum left by Western buyers backing away from business with Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in February. …
Unipec, the trading arm of Asia’s top refiner Sinopec, is leading the purchases, along with Zhenhua Oil, a unit of China’s defense conglomerate Norinco, according to shipping data, a shipbroker report seen by Reuters and five traders. Livna Shipping Ltd, a Hong Kong-registered firm, has also recently emerged as a major shipper of Russian oil into China, the traders said. …
The firms are filling the hole left by western buyers after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Russia calls a “special military operation.”
Because many are purchasing Russian crude cheaply, more is available on the oil market. In other words, there is no substantial reduction in oil on the market. And the prices are unjustified. Note you can find gasoline and diesel in every part of the country. There is no shortage. As such, gasoline prices rise not because of supply and demand but because of greed. And the oil company profits prove it. Please listen to the enclosed video clip as I explained it to my Politics Done Right audience.
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