The High Price of Oil

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A $5 per gallon price is posted at a gas station in Belmont, Calif. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

President Obama spoke on Friday about the high gas prices that are threatening to derail the U.S. economic recovery.  Crude oil prices have reached $105 a barrel and gas prices continue to creep closer to $4 a gallon.  News of unrest in the Middle East moving to Algeria, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are fueling further uncertainty and unease in the markets.  This hour, we’ll find out what’s really behind the high price of oil and gas.  We’ll look at how the spreading turmoil in the Middle East might affect the supply and price of oil.  And, we’ll look at the role that commodities market speculators may be playing on the price of oil – are they in part to blame for the steep prices?  Marty talks with STEVE LEVINE, contributing editor at Foreign Policy and author of The Oil and the Glory, and MICHAEL GREENBERGER, professor at the University of Maryland School of Law.

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[audio: 031411_110630.mp3]

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