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ST. LOUIS NEWS TODAY - Sunday, August 14, 2005
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Gasoline Prices Continue to Rise
ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), August 14, 2005 - Many Americans are also wondering when gasoline and diesel prices will start heading down and at what levels these prices will finally 'land' when they do drop. Or, more specifically, will retail gasoline and diesel prices ever fall below $2 per gallon again?
EIA's recently released Short-Term Energy Outlook estimates that retail gasoline prices will continue to average above $2.10 per gallon on a monthly basis through 2006, while diesel fuel prices are expected to average above $2.20 every month between now and the end of 2006.
Of course, this forecast is predicated on the notion that the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil will not average significantly below $55 per barrel through 2006. Should crude oil prices drop below our forecast over the next 16 months or so, we could see retail gasoline and diesel prices drop below $2 per gallon, but absent such a dramatic drop, it does appear that retail gasoline and diesel prices will remain above $2 per gallon for the foreseeable future.
Over the next few weeks, EIA expects retail gasoline prices to continue to rise as recent increases in spot prices get passed through to the pump. Prices jumped 7.7 cents per gallon between August 1 and August 8, yet EIA estimates that the average spot price of gasoline across the United States increased by about 21 cents per gallon between July 26 and August 5. As EIA analysis shows, it takes about 2 weeks for changes in the spot price of gasoline to begin to show up at the pump and it is mostly passed through after 4 weeks.
This implies more price increases lie ahead for the next few weeks. With gasoline demand expected to be strong through Labor Day, prices could increase throughout August and into the holiday weekend. After Labor Day, however, retail gasoline prices often decline, as demand drops with people going back to work and school. However, last year, the average retail price increased over the second half of September and all of October, rising a total of 18.9 cents per gallon between September 13 and October 18, largely due to the impacts from Hurricane Ivan, which reduced oil production in the Gulf of Mexico for several weeks and closed some refineries in the Gulf of Mexico area temporarily.
With forecasts calling for an active hurricane season this year, it leaves open the possibility that retail gasoline prices could continue to surge beyond Labor Day, but it would likely take a major hurricane disrupting supplies in the Gulf of Mexico or a continuation of the rash of refinery outages experienced lately here in the United States for this to occur.
For now, even as many Americans continue to complain about astronomical gasoline prices, prices are expected to go even higher in the near-term. When and where they 'land' is still an open question, but it is likely a 'safe landing' will remain above $2 per gallon, at least over the next 16 months or so.
Blunt asks Corps of Engineers to Protect Navigation on Mississippi River
JEFFERSON CITY, (SLFP.com), August 14, 2005 - Missouri Governor Matt Blunt has sent a letter to Assistant Secretary of the Army John Paul Woodley, Jr., asking the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to take additional actions to ensure that navigation on the Mississippi River is not interrupted.
Blunt told Woodley that persistent drought conditions coupled with reduced releases from the Missouri River Mainstream Reservoirs have caused Mississippi River flows at St. Louis to reach alarmingly low levels. The navigation industry has already experienced economic losses this summer due to low flows on the Mississippi River and the U.S. Coast Guard has imposed navigation restrictions such as light loading and limits on tow size.
Blunt is asking the Corps to use the Missouri River Reservoir system to provide support for Mississippi River navigation in addition to the emergency dredging that is already taking place. The Flood Control Act of 1944 gives the Secretary of the Army the authority to manage the Missouri River Reservoir System for navigation as a whole. This authority is not limited to navigation on the Missouri River alone.
Storage in the Missouri River Reservoir System is adequate to supplement flows on the Mississippi River which Blunt says the Corps must do if navigation is to be maintained. The Corps own economic analysis shows that the suspension of navigation on the Mississippi River can cause approximately $6.5 million per day in economic damages.
"It is vitally important that river traffic on the Mississippi be allowed to move unabated," Blunt said. "Missouri's farm families and other businesses depend on effective river transit as does our state's economy. The Corps has the authority to provide relief and I ask that they do so quick.
Missouri Legislators Pursue Law to Protect Children from Sexual Predators
JEFFERSON CITY, (SLFP.com), August 14, 2005 - U.S. Senators Jim Talent and Kit Bond (R-Mo.) have announced they will pursue legislation to protect children from sexual predators. The Senators' announcement came after a federal judge overturned the conviction of a child predator in Missouri on a loop hole in federal law.
"These predators pose a deadly threat to our children and must be stopped," said U.S. Senator Jim Talent. "We should do everything possible to go after child predators whether they're lurking around a schoolyard or prowling the Internet. We plan to explore all options to strengthen federal law in an effort to protect Missouri's children."
"Today's ruling is outrageous and a set back to the prosecution and the effort to keep people off the streets," said Senator Kit Bond on the judge's ruling. "If there is a hole in the law that needs to be fixed in order to protect our children from predators we must act now. The Missouri Statute is clear and I look forward to bringing another good, common-sense idea from Missouri to Washington."
Earlier this week a Missouri lawyer was convicted for enticing a teenager on the Internet. After the verdict was read, a federal judge threw out the conviction, ruling that for conviction, the law requires that a minor actually be enticed, not an undercover law enforcement official, as in this case.
Talent and Bond stressed that this apparent loophole in federal law takes away an important tool from law enforcement officials in their efforts to keep the Internet a safe place for children.
The Senators plan on drafting legislation to mirror current Missouri law, which goes farther to protect children from sex offenders. By expressly stating that communicating with law enforcement rather than an actual child is not a defense, the state's enticement and child solicitation laws allow prosecution involving undercover officers.
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