No, it's not. There are many things that determine the price of oil. 1) OPEC, 2) Dollar devaluation, 3) Supply vs Demand, 4) US government policy, foreign & domestic re oil.
Those are the top 3 causes of movement in the price of oil. You'll notice that in a free market only items # 2 and 3 would be relevant. Unfortunately, the actions by # 1 & 2 have been of major consequence to the price of oil during this decade. When we were less focused on war and more on our economy during the 1990s, you'll notice the price of oil was much lower.
Going forward, I expect oil to continue to rise, because 1) OPEC will keep oil supplies low, 2) the dollar will continue to be devalued, 3) supply will continue to weaken due to Peak Oil, 3) the Dem policies will constrict supply further.
No matter how you slice it, the energy market in the US is not a free market. |
