Photo: benzinga.com
Oil is tricky to keep track of because it's traded separately in the US and Britain, plus there are different contracts that expire each month. However, everything is low, as US Crude is at $28.39 right now, having registered a massive 4.4% drop today.
It has even gone as low as $27 per barrel earlier today, and as far as I can drag the graph on the mobile app backward, this level has never been touched before. I'm not a professional stock trader, but from what I can grasp, these are record low numbers, over 5 times lower than they were a few years ago.
So, has a new reserve of dinosaur juice been found in the middle of the ocean? Are we going to get free gas? No, the exact opposite is happening.
President Barack Obama proposed on Tuesday to raise around 320 billion dollars over the next decade by using a massive $10.25 tax per barrel of crude, up from $10 announced last week.
Nobody knows how and when the fee would be charged, but the consumers will bear the brunt of the hit. As we've come to expect from President Obama, the money will be spent on a "21st Century Clean Transportation Plan to upgrade the nation’s transportation system, improve resilience and reduce emissions."
Big oil companies have already protested, saying that the tax would hit middle-income families hard. Of course, they also stand to lose a lot, as higher prices mean less consumption.
American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard called the people who support this tax "extremists" who don't live in the real world and lack an understanding of how gas prices affect food and transportation.
The Republicans in charge of Congress have already called the bill "dead on arrival." However, Wall Street isn't taking any prisoners, as the 5% drop qualifies as a selloff.
The Mideast, which is a major oil exporter, isn't too happy about cheap crude. However, because the commodity is paired only against the dollar, which is also being sold off, Europe could see record low prices in the coming months.
So, has a new reserve of dinosaur juice been found in the middle of the ocean? Are we going to get free gas? No, the exact opposite is happening.
President Barack Obama proposed on Tuesday to raise around 320 billion dollars over the next decade by using a massive $10.25 tax per barrel of crude, up from $10 announced last week.
Nobody knows how and when the fee would be charged, but the consumers will bear the brunt of the hit. As we've come to expect from President Obama, the money will be spent on a "21st Century Clean Transportation Plan to upgrade the nation’s transportation system, improve resilience and reduce emissions."
Big oil companies have already protested, saying that the tax would hit middle-income families hard. Of course, they also stand to lose a lot, as higher prices mean less consumption.
American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard called the people who support this tax "extremists" who don't live in the real world and lack an understanding of how gas prices affect food and transportation.
The Republicans in charge of Congress have already called the bill "dead on arrival." However, Wall Street isn't taking any prisoners, as the 5% drop qualifies as a selloff.
The Mideast, which is a major oil exporter, isn't too happy about cheap crude. However, because the commodity is paired only against the dollar, which is also being sold off, Europe could see record low prices in the coming months.
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