texasweed wrote:Prices are being driven by two things.

1. Value of the USD going down.

2. Being burned for fuel with your US tax dollars subsidizing it.

Same thing with corn.

+1 - although I'm a big fan of Bernanke I think the cheap money thing has run its course, the difference between current rates and those that are 100 bps higher really doesn't make a difference. The goal is to make keeping cash so punitive that you have to put money at risk, but its driving up commodities to such a point that it is having a dampening effect on consumption. Add to that the significant portion of the population that needs to live off their savings and I think we have used up the low rate angle.

Subsidizing crops so we can convert them to biofuels is just plain crazy. I don't think there is one study that shows how it benefits the environment in any way way you look at all the steps to make that fuel.

End rant.

I'd love to be able to pick up SBM for $25/100#. Living on an island makes that tough.

jglongisland wrote: Subsidizing crops so we can convert them to biofuels is just plain crazy. I don't think there is one study that shows how it benefits the environment in any way way you look at all the steps to make that fuel.

It is not only subsidizing the crops themselves, but the government also pays distillers of Ethanol $0.45 to $1.01 per gallon depending on the feed stock.The bad news is ethanol made from corn is not a source of energy, it takes as much energy to make ethanol from corn as it produces so it is a net wash nothing gained. The energy used is electricity generated from coal. Once you consider 10% ethanol blended into gasoline lowers you vehicle mileage makes it laughable and us foolish for letting the government get away with it.

As for soybean oil, or any of the oil crops used to make diesel fuel the government pays refiners $1/gallon so they can make a profit. What most folks do not know is the US refiners export a lot of their product to Europe because they can buy it here a lot cheaper then over there because their government does not subsidize refiners. So we tax payers in the USA are footing some of Europe's fuel expense. Isn't that nice of us?

Lastly burning food for fuel is causing all food commodities to rise sharply around the world. This is the main cause for all the unrest in African and Middle East nations as people cannot afford food and are now starting to overthrow their governments like Egypt, Yemen, Syria, and Libya.

jglongisland wrote:

texasweed wrote:Subsidizing crops so we can convert them to biofuels is just plain crazy. I don't think there is one study that shows how it benefits the environment in any way way you look at all the steps to make that fuel.

There's plenty of studies that prove it's usefulness to 'the environment'. As long as you keep in mind that 'the environment' of concern is that portion of the economy that benefits from pocketing the subsidies (that texasweed pointed out) up and down the production chain.

But, benefiting the actual environment - in any sort of 'green' manner' - no. Those studies don't exist.

And now, taking my tongue out of my cheek ....

$25/100# SBM