American oil refinery

Energy continues to dominate the economy recovery as news this week shows the value of U.S. coal and petroleum exports doubled in the last two years. The value of oil and gas exports rose by 68% in the same time period.

This helps President get closer to his goal of doubling U.S. exports by 2015 as U.S. companies get better prices for the goods they export.

However this also puts gas prices in a delicate balancing act. While more and higher priced exports of energy commodities will help the broader economy grow, it also puts upward pressure on domestic consumer prices.

Even with greater exports, the U.S. is breaking oil and gas production records every month, with Texas and North Dakota leading the way. The nation is on track to produce more oil at home than we import from overseas, for the first time since 1995!

With additional pipeline infrastructure coming online to help move that oil from the oil fields to the refineries, price spikes may even out.