If energy was a horse race, this is how the announcer would call the race;

"Well, their off and running. Crude Oil is coming around the track at $62.47, up $1.48 for the January contract, while RBOB Gasoline is holding a close second at $1.705 up another .0679. Unleaded Gasoline is coming in third at $1.67, up .0504. If you tack on another 15% for store profits along with a .50 cent tax, average price of unleaded should come in around $2.46/ gallon."

So much for the stealth tax cut for consumers.

Here's the last lap of the race;

"Consumers are coming around the bend at Best Buy; they are running neck and neck. Oh, my god! We have had a terrible pile up just as we were rounding the home stretch! It looked as if consumers were going to win in a surprise victory, but energy prices that were predicted to stay down or go lower cut the legs right out from under them. Oh, this is awful! Energy prices have raced ahead of the consumer once again to win the race. Oh, the poor consumer. I really thought they were going to win this one."