Doug Kanter wrote:

"Jim Yanik" . wrote in message
.. .

Oil prices are up because Communist China is using much more oil

Only indirectly. Unless there is a REAL shortage (which there is not), the
price is determined in the same way as many other investments, such as
stocks: Speculation and mood. Next time a suicide bomber strikes within
Saudi Arabia, watch the price of oil closely, even if the bomb was detonated
in a restaurant.

In the US specifically, retail prices are being controlled by a lack of
increased refining capacity which makes any real or threatened
perturbation to daily supply subject to market speculation. If you
could get your friends to support siting such facilities, we'd have a
whole lot less volatility initially followed by a drop in price at the
pump...