Letter: Many factors involved in cause of inflation

Regarding the letter titled "True inflation cause" from John Noll: Every president gets too much credit and too much blame for whatever happens when they are in office.

In January of 2019 the price of crude oil was $59.41 per barrel, while in January 2020 it was up to $63.65. Oil is a worldwide commodity and there are many factors in its cost. In 2021 the United States was the top oil producing country in barrels per day. A majority of that oil is exported as the oil companies make more money with exporting.

As COVID arrived on our shores and the economy slowed and or shut down, there became a glut of oil in the world. It became too expensive to drill for oil and OPEC dropped its production from 9 million barrels a day in midyear to 4.6 million per day in December.

The fracking industry basically shut down as the costs were prohibitive. As COVID eased some in 2021 and people began driving and flying again the supply of oil fell, but the oil companies were slow to react, and the demand outgrew the supply, which causes the price to rise. The Keystone pipeline was being built to ship Canadian crude to Texas to be refined and then the majority of that was to be exported. It would not be helping the U.S.

There are many articles on the internet explaining the many reasons the price of gas is too high.

In North Dakota, oil companies say that they cannot find enough employees to man the rigs. They are not sure how long the high prices will stay, and they are being hesitant to start pumping again.

And like everyone else, their costs are up. And of course, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has not helped anything. I am not saying that the Biden administration is innocent, but you have to look at all the factors and see the whole picture.

Claude Balmes

Grayslake