Gas Prices May Soon Head Back Up, Pending OPEC Announcement

 

The steady drop in gas prices may soon come to an end. GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan says the average price of gas in Indiana has dropped from almost three dollars a gallon at the start of October to $2.20 on Monday. “But that may soon coming to a halt,” he says. “Oil prices are up sharply on the prospects that OPEC will cut oil production when it meets later this week at its annual meeting. In addition, there’s some optimism that a trade deal could be looming between the U.S. and China, thus bolstering the economy in the near short-term future.”

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Gutwein Popcorn Engages in Productive Talks with Chinese Companies

gutwein-logoA local company remains hopeful that relationships developed overseas will result in additional business.

Gutwein Popcorn, based in Francesville, was part of a 20 member delegation to China. Lieutenant Governor Sue Ellspermann indicated the aim of the trade mission was to meet with government officials to develop relationships. Gutwein Popcorn already carries out business in neighboring Asian economies such as South Korea and Japan.
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Congressman Donnelly Discusses Proposed Legislation Concerning Exports

Joe Donnelly
Congressman Joe Donnelly

Congress is attempting to reign in the Chinese for manipulating its currency to make its exports to the U.S. cheaper and U.S. exports more expensive. Many legislators are hesitant to take on the Chinese this way, saying quiet diplomacy is a better way to influence policy.

Second District Congressman Joe Donnelly spoke on the house floor yesterday about the proposed legislation.

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Gas Prices Rise to $3.19 a Gallon

Gas prices spiked ten cents this week when prices hit $3.19 a gallon.

“We’re kind of seeing a little bit of a combination of things when it comes to crude oil prices,” said Don Good of the Good Oil Company in Winamac. “It’s combination of the weak dollar, we’ve kind of talked about that crude oil is valued in dollars, so when we do something in our economy that makes the dollar weaker, like the $900 billion tax relief plan that added to the deficit, that made the dollar fall. Since the dollar is the currency that they value crude in around the world, it makes crude oil more expensive for us and less expensive for other countries. India’s and China’s economies have really picked up. I think they’re running at about a six or eight percent increase compared to where we are struggling. As a matter of fact, China just passed us as being the largest consumer of petroleum in the world. They’re consumption of oil is going up while ours is pretty stagnant. Right now the markets are focusing on their use than ours.”

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