While we drivers do not like the direction gas prices are taking one bit (that would be inching up), investors in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) for gas and oil are seeing opportunity knocking.

Gas is up a nickel a gallon, and $3/gal is the target many experts are pointing to. Oil prices are up to $82/barrel. Tension in Nigeria. China still building up its reserves.

Check out the charts in the article.

It all looks like a classic case of buy low, sell high to us. Might be a good time to get some protection for your fuel budget.

US Energy Sec, Dr. Steven Chu, doesn’t think so.

Wide swings in oil prices are difficult for industries to manage and the U.S. government is concerned about another price spike, Chu said.

Even $80 oil is making him nervous.

“We’ve repeatedly said what the world wants and needs is stable prices,” Chu said. “They have been inching up recently and it’s a little bit concerning.”

We’d be doing some hedging here instead of counting on Dr. Chu to do it for us.

Gas prices hit a new 2009 high last week. An average of $2.58/gal.

Most conclude the weak $$ is to blame. Last we read, inventories were robust, but now the EIA says that oil & gas supplies have dropped.

Even OPEC says that $80/barrel oil is a little too high given the fragile economy. It blames the oil speculators.

OPEC isn’t “telling you that oil is a good buy at these prices,” analyst Stephen Schork said. “The only people who are telling you that oil is worth $85 (a barrel) is Wall Street.”

Oil rose over $81/barrel - highest for the year. US supplies declined more than forecast. Dollar dropped.

analyst forecasts, in the week ended Oct. 16, according to the report.

“As long as there’s pressure on the U.S. dollar, there will be upward movement in oil,” said Rachel Ziemba, an analyst at RGE Monitor, an economic research company in New York. “We could see even greater climbs higher, which will put us even further out of whack from the fundamentals.”

Stocks, ExxonMobil and Chevron, are up big time.

Is oil the new hedging tool?

What is the truth about the demise of Semigroup Holdings, and did Goldman have anything to do with driving up the price of oil in July to ratchet up the short squeeze?

Will Oil and Gold prices rally or drop? Chris Vermuelen of Safehaven says they are at the tipping point.

Average US gas prices rose 10 cents/gal over the past three weeks.

IEA cuts oil demand outlook. Oil settles around $50.