United States Has Been Exporting Fuel For Last Nine Weeks, High Gas Prices Still Remain

Well isn't this a shocker!  Our driving habits have changed so much lately that the United States has actually had a surplus of fuel for the last nine weeks and has been exporting refined fuels to other countries.

Americans are using so little gasoline that the U.S. has been a net exporter of refined fuels to other countries for the past nine weeks. That's typical for OPEC countries, but it's extremely rare for the U.S. "You have to go back years and years," Kloza said. "I haven't found a time when we've been a net exporter for that many weeks." Most of those exports head to Mexico and Canada. The U.S. also sends fuel to dozens of other countries; including the Netherlands, Singapore, Japan, Ecuador, Panama, Chile and Colombia.

So why the high gas prices?  It's a global market and more developing countries are driving cars and burning up gas.  It goes to show that even though we as a country are for the time being self sufficent in oil, prices will still hurt at the pump.

It also doesn't help that we are in the hurricane-hyper paranoid season.  Investors and traders are worried about possible refinery shut downs and other problems in the coast.

You can read more of the in depth specifics at msnbc.com.