That's no misprint. According to data released from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, for the first nine months of 2011 the U.S. exported 753.4 million barrels of petroleum products; everything from gasoline to kerosene to jet fuel... and we imported just 689.4 million barrels.

So for the first time in 62 years the U.S. is once again a net exporter of petroleum products. How did that happen? A combination of things brought this about. And it's not surprising. When you consider the increased demand from emerging markets such as China and India coupled with the enduring weakness of the U.S. economy and weak domestic demand, you get the picture.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the news "that the U.S. is now shipping out more fuel than it brings in is significant because the nation has for decades been a voracious energy consumer. It took in huge quantities of not only crude oil from the Middle East but also refined fuels from Europe, Latin America and elsewhere to help run its factories and cars.

As recently as 2005, the U.S. imported nearly 900 million barrels more of petroleum products than it exported. Since then the deficit has been steadily shrinking until finally disappearing last fall, and analysts say the country will not lose its "net exporter" tag anytime soon."

Of course, WSJ reported the painfully obvious too... They say that U.S. drivers aren't seeing much benefit in the form of lower prices because refineries on the Gulf Coast are shipping much of their output to places where demand is strong, keeping U.S. prices high.

So it's a delicate balance. OPEC wants high oil prices but not so high that Americans will move more aggressively toward electric vehicles and alternative energy sources... For U.S. oil companies, high or low, it seems to makes little difference. They control domestic supply and are ready to price gasoline accordingly to capitalize on currency fluctuations, competing markets, and secure the highest prices that domestic or international markets may bear.

That's capitalism. It's complicated. And ironically, for all those who complain about the status quo, undoubtedly hundreds of thousands of 401k plans have grown from mutual fund investment in the same oil companies some might demonize.