Exxon-and OPEC-bashing in Congress, and a host of populist musings in the media and blogosphere, have it wrong. Washington’s politicians and policy-makers are to blame for much of the rise in oil prices because they have been woefully ignorant of economic developments around the world.
Prices are soaring, in part, because oil is denominated in U.S. dollars and the dollar has declined, thanks to Washington’s overspending on wars, trade, subsidies and government budgets. Investors have also abandoned credit markets since the (thanks to U.S. deregulation) subprime meltdown and put their money into real assets instead.
But the biggest reason prices have been soaring is the future supply and demand outlook.