Price At The Pump Highest In Six Years

Another Obama legacy: gasoline prices at the pump are the highest in six years. MarylandCBSLocal is reporting:

Expect to pay more at the pump. Conflicts in Iraq have substantially caused gas to go up.
Marcus Washington reports right now gas prices are at a six year high for early summer.
As a projected 41 million people hit the road during this Fourth of July weekend, experts say get ready to pay more at the pump. 

“Both nationally and in Maryland, the average today is $3.68 a gallon. That’s up two cents from a week ago nationally. And here in Maryland, it’s up about three cents,” said Ragina Cooper-Averella, AAA Mid-Atlantic. 

The rising price of gas is a direct reflection of conflict in Iraq. Analysts are now focused on the militant uprising in the country, where America gets a large percentage of its oil supply.

I would tend to disagree.

Two things: first, I was unaware that "America gets a large percentage of its oil supply" from Iraq.

Second, the effect of the conflict in Iraq on the price of WTI crude oil. One week before the outbreak of the Iraqi uncivil war, which took everyone by surprise, the price of WTI was $103. Today the price of WTI is below $106 and never got above $108 during this period.

It's important to note that the current Iraqi uncivil took everyone by surprise because one could argue that the price of oil was melting up in anticipation of conflict. That was not the case.

If there is any one reason for rising gasoline prices, it has to do with the war on fossil fuels and the "green energy" initiatives coming out of the Obama administration.

We will never know, but common sense tells me that a glut of oil coming down from Canada through the Keystone XL would have significantly dropped the price of oil -- simple supply and demand. Folks will debate that. That's fine. But one could easily write the headline that killing the Keystone is the reason for high gasoline prices and many (most?) would believe it's not far off the mark.

But to blame high gasoline prices at the pump because of the Iraqi uncivil war is …. well, ludicrous.