Tap the Reserve

BP's announcement that they may have to stop oil production on one of Alaska's biggest oil pipelines is sending oil prices higher. As we've seen before, the per barrel price increases in oil are usually very disproportionate, to the high side, to any real threat of shortage or disruption. Speculators use these stories to artificially pump up prices which are almost immedialtely passed along to the average consumer (gouging). The feds are at least making noises about releasing some of the Federal Strategic Petroleum Reserve to offset the production shortage.
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