Maybe Ron Paul Was Right

Barrels of oil per dollar in blue, Euro in red and ounce of gold in purple.

Photo: AGI

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The American Geological Institute Workforce Program has published an interesting analysis of world oil prices.

As we know, the price of oil has risen steeply. We pay more dollars for the same amount of oil. Those who purchase in Euros also pay more, though not as much as we pay in dollars. But if you compare the spot prices of oil to gold, there has been almost no increase.

As AGI wrote:

"The steep increase in the price of crude oil in the United States remains a headline issue, along with the falling US dollar. The drop in the dollar has caused concern in oil-producing countries which use it as the economic basis for the commodity, and often their currency. The chart below shows the spot market price of crude oil per barrel (BBL) in US dollars and in euros from 2001 to today. The price of oil has grown faster relative to the dollar than to the euro. Yet, a portion of the rise in oil prices is due to the fall of the value of the dollar. The graph also shows the number of barrels of crude oil per cost of an ounce of gold, demonstrating the parallel growth in commodity pricing.

"If the US dollar had remained strong in the global economy, oil might, in theory, be around $65 per barrel. However, oil is priced in dollars, and oil prices continue to rise. The impact of increased oil prices can not be ignored in the US economy, and, in turn, can further weaken the dollar. Resource economics is a complex feedback loop where today’s resource boom is driven by many external factors."

Republican longshot candidate Ron Paul has talked about how monetary policy, as much as energy policy, is behind inflationary problems like the run-up in oil prices.

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