Crude Oil Exports
A pair of Senate Democrats has called for a “comprehensive analysis” of the potential effects of lifting the ban on US crude oil exports, including how it might impact gasoline prices. Experts predict that crude oil producers will “struggle to find a market” for their product by the end of the year due to the export constraints and inadequate domestic processing and distribution capacity.
According to new research by RFF’s Stephen P.A. Brown, Charles Mason, Alan Krupnick, and Jan Mares: “US refineries are better suited to process heavy crude oil, while refineries in other countries are better suited to process light crude oil. As a result, lifting the ban on US crude oil exports would allow for a more efficient distribution of crude oil among refineries in the Western Hemisphere and elsewhere in the world” and, ultimately, reduce gas prices. Read the complete RFF issue brief here: Crude Behavior: How Lifting the Export Ban Reduces Gasoline Prices in the United States.
Destroying Ivory Stockpiles
Nations around the globe are taking actions to “curb a global boom in wildlife trafficking,” with a new ban in the US on elephant ivory and a decision by Hong Kong to destroy its “massive stockpile” of ivory. However, prices on the existing illegal stockpiles have begun to climb, leaving some to believe that “destroying ivory to drive down demand doesn't make a lot of economic sense.”
In a new blog post, RFF Senior Fellow Carolyn Fischer comments that governments are placing a “big bet” in destroying stockpiles in “hope that the publicity will deter demand among even consumers who were willing to purchase illegally.” A risk is that “destroying stockpiles sends a signal that the ivory resource is even more scarce—driving up prices and raising the value of illegal stockpiles.”
