'Perfect Storm' of Factors Driving Up Oil Prices, say Experts(1/3)
American motorists appear to grow more dismayed every time they go to a gasoline station. The average price for a gallon of fuel rose nearly six cents in the past week alone, and is more than 50 cents higher than a year ago.
While consumers complain, others are pointing fingers.
For Ray Carbone, who heads the New York-based energy trading firm Paramount Options, the issue boils down to three words: supply and demand. He notes that the world is consuming more fossil fuel each day, led by large, rapidly developing countries like China and India, at a time when global oil production is stagnant.
"The demand numbers coming out of Asia, although slower than a year or two ago, have certainly put into the fore that the U.S. is not the big, big driver in demand that it used to be, And that seems to be what people are having trouble coming to grips with, I think."
Despite rising oil consumption, the world's largest oil cartel, OPEC, has resisted calls to boost production. But OPEC officials are offering no apologies, and scoff at the theory that inadequate supply to meet rising demand lies at the heart of today's elevated oil prices.
