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MaStA said:
Yeah that's what I figured would happen. Kind of like those goofy spam e-mails that come around saying everyone in the USA don't purchase gas on this day. That won't happen...but if this guy cut off selling gas to us he would be putting his own country in that bind.
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You are exactly right on that, but if anyone deserves to be in a bind, HE DOES!! Little Hitler!:nuts:
 
Oil prices extend rise above $93 a barrel

Oil up on market gains, supply worries, as Venezuela continues to battle with Exxon Mobil.

February 14 2008: 7:44 AM EST

LONDON (AP) -- Oil prices extended their modest rise Thursday, supported by Wall Street's overnight gains and threats to U.S. oil supplies.
Wall Street rallied Wednesday after the U.S. Commerce Department said retail sales rose unexpectedly last month. Energy investors often view the equity market as a barometer of economic health, worrying that any slowdown in growth will lead to a corresponding slump in energy demand.
Traders also remain concerned about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's threat to halt oil sales to the United States in response to Exxon Mobil Corp.'s (XOM, Fortune 500) bid to freeze billions of dollars in Venezuelan assets. Exxon Mobil is challenging the nationalization of its Venezuelan oil ventures in U.S. and European courts.
A federal judge in New York on Wednesday confirmed the freezing of $300 million in cash held by Venezuela's state-run oil company, finding it probable that Exxon Mobil will win its legal battle against the company.
But Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez vowed earlier in the day to defeat Exxon Mobil in its legal battle with Petroleos de Venezuela SA, which has threatened to halt crude sales to the U.S. oil company
"We're going to come out of this battle successful," Ramirez told a rally of oil workers in the eastern state of Anzoategui. "Exxon Mobil isn't pleased with our government. It matters little to our government what Exxon Mobil thinks."
Light, sweet crude for March delivery rose 19 cents to $93.46 a barrel in in electronic trading by late morning in Europe ahead of the opening of floor trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The contract rose 49 cents to settle at $93.27 a barrel on Wednesday.
Brent crude added 78 cents to reach $94.10 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.
Investors were also heartened by U.S. President George W. Bush's signing Wednesday of the $168 billion economic stimulus package that will send tax rebate checks to millions of Americans.
Oil prices have fallen from a January record above $100 a barrel largely on concerns about economic growth and falling demand for oil and gasoline.
Traders shrugged off a mixed U.S. government inventory report that said crude oil supplies grew 1.1 million barrels last week, less than the expected 2.7 million barrel increase.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said gasoline inventories rose 1.7 million barrels while inventories of distillates, which include heating oil, dropped 100,000 barrels last week.
Heating oil futures added 0.48 cent to reach $2.6204 a gallon while gasoline prices rose 0.78 cent to $2.3977 a gallon.
Natural gas futures rose 11.2 cents to $8.50 per 1,000 cubic feet.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/14/markets/bc.oilprices.ap/index.htm
 
:mad:Oil prices continue steep rise:mad:

Tests $96 a barrel after positive trade gap report, hopes for cut in interest rates.

February 15 2008: 7:17 AM EST


Special Reportfull coverage

VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- Oil prices rose Friday as new U.S. trade deficit figures spurred hopes that the U.S. economy might escape a serious downturn.
The March contract gained 30 cents to fetch $95.76 a barrel by noon in European electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude futures lagged behind the NYMEX trend, down 28 cents to $94.908 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.
The U.S. Commerce Department said Thursday the trade deficit fell in December and for 2007 as a whole - an indication the U.S. is exporting more goods. This led investors to think U.S. energy demand would not be as weak as feared.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's suggestion that the central bank is prepared to again cut interest rates also helped boost light, sweet crude to settle at $95.46 a barrel Thursday, an increase of $2.19 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
That was its highest close since Jan. 9. The contract has risen in 4 of the past 5 sessions, adding more than $6 in a little over a week.
"Energy prices are strong," proclaimed the Schork Report, edited by energy analyst Stephen Schork, saying that benchmark crude "despite Bernanke's 'sluggish' view of the U.S. economy appears primed for another run at $100."
Bernanke said the Fed is ready to act again in response to deteriorating economic conditions. Interest rate cuts support oil prices because they tend to weaken the dollar. Crude futures offer a hedge against a falling dollar, and oil futures bought and sold in dollars are more attractive to foreign investors when the greenback is falling.
Energy investors were also buying after a federal judge's decision Wednesday to confirm an earlier ruling freezing $300 million in a bank account owned by the Venezuelan state oil company.
Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500) is challenging Venezuela's nationalization of an oil project. A British court's earlier decision to temporarily freeze up to $12 billion in Venezuelan oil assets drew threats from President Hugo Chavez to cut off all oil sales to the U.S.
Prices gained despite forecasts this week from the Energy Department and the International Energy Agency, an energy policy adviser to the industrialized world, that call for slower demand growth this year due to weakening economies.
Heating oil futures slid marginally to sell for $2.6640 a gallon while gasoline prices were steady at $2.4754 a gallon.
Natural gas futures were essentially unchanged at $8.778 per 1,000 cubic feet. http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/15/markets/bc.oilprices.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008021506
 
WSJ had a nice piece on how Mexico is running out of oil. Mexico is our third largest importer of oil after Canada and Saudi Arabia. Their production is dropping like a stone and at the current rate they will have to STOP EXPORTING OIL IN SEVEN YEARS.

OUR THIRD LARGEST SUPPLIER OF OIL WILL HAVE TO STOP EXPORTING TO THE US.
 
Chavez Says Venezuela Can Sell Oil Anywhere, Not Just to U.S.

By Matthew Walter
Feb. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has threatened to cut off oil sales to the U.S., said reports that making such a decision would hurt his country's economy are false, and that Venezuelan oil can be sold anywhere.
Chavez denounced an editorial published this week in the Washington Post, which said the president's government would be the ``first victim'' if he decided to cut off oil sales to the U.S.
``If the U.S. didn't need the oil, they would have boycotted us a long time ago,'' Chavez said last night in an interview on state television, according to an e-mailed statement from the information ministry. ``Try it then. We've got more buyers than we can handle in the first place.''
Chavez's threat to cut off the U.S. stemmed from a conflict between Petroleos de Venezuela SA and Exxon Mobil Corp. The U.S. company last month got court orders freezing $12.3 billion of the Venezuelan state oil company's assets to ensure it will be compensated for its stake in a heavy crude joint venture that was nationalized last year.
Venezuelan Oil and Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said on Feb. 13 that the U.S. State Department, which is trying to carry out an ``economic war'' with the South American country, was behind the Exxon move. The State Department has said it had no part in Exxon's actions.
PDVSA, as the state oil company is known, and Exxon are in arbitration to resolve the dispute.
Venezuela, the fourth-biggest supplier of foreign crude oil to the U.S., is already increasing oil exports to other countries, including China, Portugal and Japan, Chavez said, according to the statement.
To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Walter in Caracas at mwalter4@bloomberg.net .
Last Updated: February 16, 2008 10:42 EST
 
Old Hugo changed his mind pretty quickly, I wonder why?:laugh:
View attachment 3314

Chavez: No plan to halt oil exports to U.S.

Oil markets were rattled last Sunday when Venezuela's president threatened to cut shipments in retaliation for Exxon Mobil's attempts to freeze Venezuelan assets.

February 17 2008: 6:16 PM EST

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- President Hugo Chavez sent a soothing message to American motorists on Sunday, saying that Venezuela is not preparing to cut off oil shipments to the United States.
The socialist leader rattled oil markets last Sunday when he threatened to halt shipments to the United States in retaliation for Exxon Mobil Corp.'s success in convincing courts in the U.S. and Europe to freeze Venezuelan assets.
"We don't have plans to stop sending oil to the United States," the socialist leader said Sunday during a visit to heavy-oil projects in Venezuela's petroleum-rich Orinoco River basin that were nationalized last year.
But he added that Venezuela could cut off supplies to the United States if Washington "attacks Venezuela or tries to harm us."
Chavez has repeatedly warned against a possible U.S. invasion he says Washington would use to seize control of Venezuela's immense oil reserves.
U.S. officials have denied any such plan exists.
The United States relies on Venezuela for about 10 percent of its oil imports.
The administration of Chavez -- a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro -- is locked in a legal battle with Irving, Texas-based company over compensation for the nationalization of one of four heavy oil projects in the Orinoco River basin.
Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500) -- the world's largest publicly traded oil company -- is seeking to freeze billions of dollars in Venezuelan assets in the United States and Europe to guarantee a payoff in the event it wins a decision by an international arbitration panel.
Last month, a British court injunction ordered the temporary freezing of up to $12 billion in assets of state-run Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA.
On Thursday, Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said Exxon Mobil is demanding more than 10 times the compensation it may deserve from Venezuela for nationalizing the oil venture.
Also Sunday, Chavez repeated previous threats that food companies caught hoarding goods to sell later at inflated prices "should be seized and taken under government control."
He singled out Venezuela's largest food producer and distributor, Empresas Polar, as a "clear example" of a business that could be taken over.
Representatives of Polar could not immediately be reached for comment, and its offices were closed on Sunday. The company has denied hoarding goods in the past, saying it hopes to work with the government to fight shortages.
Chavez has frequently warned food companies against sitting on food staples as the country struggles with sporadic shortages of some basic foods, including sugar, cooking oil, milk, black beans, eggs and chicken.
But no such takeovers have occurred so far, and many private supermarkets and food distributors continue to thrive in Venezuela.
Many leading retailers argue that currency controls established in 2003 are responsible for higher prices, because some businesses are forced to buy imports using black-market dollars at more than twice the official exchange rate. http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/17/news/international/venezuela.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008021717
 
Oil up because if POSSIBLE supply cuts and forcasts for SLOWER demand? What the heck!!:nuts:

Oil prices up on possible supply cuts

Oil rises near $96 a barrel on possible OPEC cuts amid forecasts for slower demand growth.

February 18 2008: 8:06 AM EST

Special Reportfull coverage

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices rose slightly Monday, gaining after further hints that OPEC may cut production if global supplies continue to rise.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has trimmed its forecasts for demand this year by 100,000 barrels a day, but it has also hinted it may cut production if global supplies of crude continue to rise, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
Several reports in recent days, though, have suggested that global economic conditions may not be deteriorating as quickly as feared. The U.S. Federal Reserve said Friday that industrial production in the world's largest economy rose last month in line with expectations. On the other hand, the Energy Department, the International Energy Agency and now OPEC have all cut demand forecasts.
OPEC is scheduled to meet March 5 in Vienna to review its production policy.
Light, sweet crude for March delivery rose 40 cents to $95.90 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe.
Trading volumes on Monday were thinner than usual due to the President's Day holiday in the United States and the start in London of the International Petroleum Week, a reputable oil industry conference.
The Nymex crude contract rose 4 cents Friday to settle at $95.50 a barrel after alternating frequently between positive and negative territory. Oil prices have risen more than $8 in little more than a week.
On Sunday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez soothed American motorists, saying that Venezuela is not preparing to cut off oil shipments to the United States.
The socialist leader rattled oil markets when he threatened a week ago to halt shipments to the United States in retaliation for Exxon Mobil Corp.'s (XOM, Fortune 500) success in convincing courts in the U.S. and Europe to freeze Venezuelan assets.
"We don't have plans to stop sending oil to the United States," Chavez said Sunday during a visit to heavy-oil projects in Venezuela's petroleum-rich Orinoco River basin that were nationalized last year.
But he added that Venezuela could cut off supplies to the United States if Washington "attacks Venezuela or tries to harm us." Chavez has repeatedly warned against a possible U.S. invasion to seize control of Venezuela's immense oil reserves. U.S. officials have denied any such plan exists.
The United States relies on Venezuela for about 10% of its oil imports.
Chavez's administration is locked in a legal battle with Exxon Mobil over compensation for the nationalization of one of four heavy-oil projects in the Orinoco River basin.
Exxon Mobil is seeking to freeze billions of dollars in Venezuelan assets in the United States and Europe to guarantee a payoff if it wins a decision by an international arbitration panel.
Last month, a British court injunction ordered the temporary freezing of up to $12 billion in assets of state-run Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA.
Traders also were keeping an eye on developments in Nigeria, where militants responsible for attacks on the country's oil infrastructure asked U.S. President George W. Bush to mediate in the long-lasting crisis.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, began intensifying its attacks two years ago, kidnapping foreign workers and sabotaging oil infrastructure.
As a result of the conflict, Nigeria, Africa's biggest producer and a major supplier of crude to America, has seen its output fall by about 20%, helping send oil prices higher.
In London, Brent crude for April delivery rose 33 cents to $94.96 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
Heating oil futures rose 0.51 cents to $2.652 a gallon while gasoline prices gained 0.42 cents to $2.498 a gallon. Natural gas futures rose 17.9 cents to $8.839 per 1,000 cubic feet. http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/18/markets/oil_prices.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008021808
 
Explosion Rocks West Texas Oil Refinery

Explosion at West Texas Oil Refinery, Shutting Down Major Interstate; No Word of Injuries

The Associated Press

BIG SPRING, Texas

An explosion rocked an oil refinery Monday in a violent blast that shook buildings miles away, authorities and witnesses said. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
"All I know is that it blew up," a Howard County dispatcher said.
The 8:30 a.m. blast sent black smoke billowing into the sky, shut down a major interstate and left residents rattled.
"It was extremely scary. You shook you were so scared," said Laura McEwen, the wife of Mayor Russ McEwen who lives about two miles from the refinery. "Our walls shook. It jolted your bed. It was like an earthquake."
John Moseley, managing editor of the Big Spring Herald whose downtown office is also about two miles from the refinery, said, "I thought it would knock the walls down."
The refinery, owned by Dallas-based Alon USA, employs about 170 people and produces about 70,000 barrels a day. Company spokesman Blake Lewis said he didn't know how many people might be at the plant at the time.
Lewis said the company had an unconfirmed report of an incident but did not know any details. A plant manager was on the way to the site, he said.
Interstate 20 was shut down near the plant, Big Spring police spokesman Roger Sweatt said. His department didn't know of injuries.
"There's some fire and a whole bunch of smoke," Sweatt said.
Big Spring is about halfway between Dallas and El Paso.



Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Copyright © 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures
 
mojo said:
Explosion Rocks West Texas Oil Refinery

Explosion at West Texas Oil Refinery, Shutting Down Major Interstate; No Word of Injuries

The Associated Press

BIG SPRING, Texas

An explosion rocked an oil refinery Monday in a violent blast that shook buildings miles away, authorities and witnesses said. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
"All I know is that it blew up," a Howard County dispatcher said.
The 8:30 a.m. blast sent black smoke billowing into the sky, shut down a major interstate and left residents rattled.
"It was extremely scary. You shook you were so scared," said Laura McEwen, the wife of Mayor Russ McEwen who lives about two miles from the refinery. "Our walls shook. It jolted your bed. It was like an earthquake."
John Moseley, managing editor of the Big Spring Herald whose downtown office is also about two miles from the refinery, said, "I thought it would knock the walls down."
The refinery, owned by Dallas-based Alon USA, employs about 170 people and produces about 70,000 barrels a day. Company spokesman Blake Lewis said he didn't know how many people might be at the plant at the time.
Lewis said the company had an unconfirmed report of an incident but did not know any details. A plant manager was on the way to the site, he said.
Interstate 20 was shut down near the plant, Big Spring police spokesman Roger Sweatt said. His department didn't know of injuries.
"There's some fire and a whole bunch of smoke," Sweatt said.
Big Spring is about halfway between Dallas and El Paso.



Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Copyright © 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures
Click to expand...

Oh MAN! Less supply there she goes up again. Hope nobody was hurt!:worried:
 
explosion1.jpg

Watched Walmart change their signs while I sat in line today. Up 4 cents a gallon R.U.L. 3 hours after it happened.
nnuut said:
Oh MAN! Less supply there she goes up again. Hope nobody was hurt!:worried:
Click to expand...
 
Oil heads back toward $100:mad:

Crude reaches $97.46, up $1.96, as investors weigh the possibility of OPEC production cuts; Texas refinery explosion may have also lifted prices.

February 19 2008: 9:08 AM EST

The path to $100-a-barrel oil now appears open, according to one industry analyst.

http://javascript<b></b>:cnnVideo('.../11/news.harlow.021108.newsmakers.cnnmoney');The Venezuelan president threatens to cut oil shipments to the United States.

VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- Oil, heating oil and gasoline prices spiked Tuesday as investors eyed the possibility that OPEC may cut production just ahead of the second quarter, when gasoline demand in the Northern Hemisphere usually becomes the central focus of the market.
An explosion at a 70,000-barrel-a-day refinery in Texas may have also boosted prices, but the primary worry is that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may reduce output next month to support prices in a range of $85 to $100 a barrel, said Tetsu Emori, commodity markets fund manager at ASTMAX Futures Co. in Tokyo.
OPEC may do so just ahead of the second quarter when oil prices have started an annual run-up the past five years as people looked ahead to "gasoline demand coming in the spring," Emori said.
The explosion Monday at the Alon USA refinery at Big Spring, Texas, injured four workers, with one employee hospitalized for burns. All workers were accounted for about an hour after the explosion, according to Blake Lewis, a spokesman for Alon.
Alon USA Vice President David Foster said he expected the refinery to be off-line for weeks.
Light, sweet crude for March delivery gained $1.96 from Friday's floor close to $97.46 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe. The Nymex crude contract for March rose 4 cents Friday to settle at $95.50 a barrel.
Heating oil and gasoline futures jumped more than 7 cents to $2.7170 a gallon and $2.5638 a gallon (3.8 liters.) Natural gas futures rose more than 20 cents to $8.862 per 1,000 cubic feet.
The price, which has hovered near $100 before, is now about $9 a barrel more than the closing price in the U.S. on Feb. 6.
"Energy prices are strong," said the Schork Report, edited by energy analyst Stephen Schork. "As we look forward to this abridged (trading) week ... the path to $100 ... appears open." [more]
http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/19/markets/oil-opec.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008021907
 
Oil once again breaks $100:mad:

Crude soars as investors weigh the possibility of OPEC production cuts; Texas refinery explosion may have also lifted prices.

February 19 2008: 2:47 PM EST

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil futures prices have shot back above $100 a barrel for the first time since Jan. 3.
A weekend refinery explosion in Texas and the possibility that OPEC will cut production next month are driving prices higher, although analysts say there isn't a single factor to explain the move.
Light, sweet crude for March delivery has risen as high as $100.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The refinery in Big Spring, Texas is owned by Alon USA. It processes nearly 70,000 barrels of oil a day. Officials say it could be closed for as long as two months.
"The refinery fire in Texas is making people a little concerned," said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research Inc. in Amherst, Mass.
Light, sweet crude for March delivery rose $4.05 to $99.5 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. March gasoline jumped 11.4 cents to $2.6078 a gallon, and March heating oil rose 10.41 cents to $2.751 a gallon.
The dollar fell Tuesday, giving investors another reason to buy oil. Crude futures offer a hedge against a falling dollar, and oil futures bought and sold in dollars are more attractive to foreign investors when the greenback is falling.
For the moment, investors appear to have put aside concerns about the economy that have sent oil prices down into the mid-$80 range twice since crude peaked above $100 last month. Traders are instead focused on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which will meet early next month to map out production plans, and Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez made conflicting statements this weekend about the country's legal dispute with Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM, Fortune 500)
OPEC could move to cut production in the second quarter, typically a period of low demand, though many analysts feel that's unlikely. In Venezuela, Chavez said he was not serious about an earlier threat to cut oil sales to the United States, but also threatened to sue Exxon Mobil. The world's largest oil company is fighting Venezuela's nationalization of an oil project, and recently convinced several courts to freeze $12 billion in Venezuelan oil assets.
None of the news is enough to justify a nearly $3 a barrel jump in the price of crude, said James Cordier, founder of OptionSellers.com, a Tampa, Fla., trading firm. Echoing other analysts, Cordier argued that the oil market is in the process of "decoupling" from oil's supply and demand fundamentals. He said investors drawn by the falling dollar and momentum are pushing oil prices sharply higher despite reports last week from the Energy Department, OPEC and the International Energy Agency which all cut oil demand growth predictions for this year.
"Everyone concurs that we've got smaller demand coming in the U.S.," Cordier said.
Retail gas prices, meanwhile, jumped 1.8 cents to a national average price of $3.032 a gallon Tuesday, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Retail prices, which typically lag the futures market, are following oil prices higher. The Energy Department expects gas prices to peak near $3.40 a gallon this spring.
Other energy futures also rose Tuesday. March natural gas jumped 30.1 cents to $8.961 per 1,000 cubic feet. Analysts said prices were supported by forecasts for cooler weather, but that futures were also following oil prices higher.
In London, Brent crude for April delivery rose $3.25 to $98.16 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/19/markets/oil-opec.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008021914

NOTE
OIL Settled over $100 a barrel today! See Oil Slick Home Page below!
 
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Oil retreats after closing above $100

Crude price fall back a day after settling at a record finish of $100.01 a barrel.

Feb. 20 2008: 6:10 AM EST

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Oil prices retreated Wednesday in Asia after closing above $100 a barrel for the first time overnight as investors seized on a refinery explosion and the possibility that OPEC may cut its output.

Many recent forecasts have said oil demand growth this year will be less than initially expected - yet prices continue to rise. That suggests oil may continue rising as the weakening dollar attracts new investors to the futures market.
Other factors lifting oil above the $100 mark were concerns about a falling dollar, the threat of new violence in Nigeria and continuing tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela.
"The oil price continues to be supported by concerns over oil supply," said David Moore, Commonwealth Bank commodity strategist, in a daily research note. "There is speculation that OPEC will either leave oil production levels unchanged, or, possibly, even reduce production following the 5 March OPEC meeting," he said.
Light, sweet crude for March delivery fell $1.05 to $98.96 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by late afternoon in Singapore.
The contract rose $4.51 on Tuesday to settle at a record finish of $100.01 a barrel, after earlier rising to a trading record of $100.10 a barrel. It was the first time since Jan. 3 that oil had been above $100.
Prices are still within the range of inflation-adjusted highs set in early 1980. Depending on how the adjustment is calculated, $38 a barrel then would be worth $96 to $103 or more today. [more] http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/20/markets/oil_prices.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008022006
 
AP
Oil Retreats on Supply View, Economy
Wednesday February 20, 11:09 am ET
By John Wilen, AP Business Writer Oil Futures Retreat From Records on Expectations Supplies Rose Last Week, Weak Economic Data
NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil futures retreated from record levels Wednesday as investors, rethinking crude's ability to keep climbing past $100, decided to cash in some of their profits from the market's huge advance.
Expectations that domestic oil supplies rose last week and hints that oil's latest trip into record territory may prompt OPEC to hold production steady weighed on prices. Goldman Sachs advised investors to sell oil futures to lock in profits, although the investment bank said it expects oil to rise to $105 a barrel by the end of the year. New economic data Wednesday gave investors new reason to doubt oil's ability to sustain such high prices. The Labor Department said its Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation, rose by 0.4 percent last month, more than economists expected. That jump may mean the Federal Reserve will limit the size of future interest rate cuts. [more]
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080220/oil_prices.html
 
Oil muscles past faltering U.S. economy

With oil over $100 despite a flagging U.S. economy, prices seem moved more by strength in global demand.

February 20 2008: 1:04 PM EST

(CNNMoney.com) -- There was a time when oil prices needed the backing of a strong U.S. economy to reach record levels, but oil prices hit all-time highs again Wednesday even as a recession looms.

Clearly, a strong economy is still be necessary to keep oil prices high but it seems the United States is no longer oil's main driver.
"The really strong economy is on the other side of the world," said Peter Tertzakian, chief energy economist at ARC Financial, a Calgary-based private equity firm.
When crude closed at over $100 a barrel Tuesday, traders were quick to point to the short-term problems that led to the nearly $14 rally over the last two weeks: The spat between Exxon Mobil and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, fears the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates again, sending the dollar lower, and talk of an OPEC production cut.
"How can OPEC justify a production cut with oil at $100 a barrel," Phil Flynn, a market analyst at Alaron Trading in Chicago, said when explaining the recent runup. "If the world falls into recession, OPEC will be partly to blame."
To some, the explanations sounded a little hollow. Antoine Halff, head of energy research at Fimat in New York, titled his research note on Tuesday's more than $4 price spike "A rally in search of a cause," attributing much of the gain to "capital's quest for safe havens and financial hedges against inflation."
But despite recession talk in the U.S. and, to a lesser extent, Europe, economies in the developing world are humming along quite nicely. That, along with some hefty subsidies in the Middle East and elsewhere, is the main reason oil prices have continued to break records, analysts say.
While the U.S. economy is expected to grow by an anemic 1.5 percent in 2008 and the prospects for Europe not much better, Tertzakian said developing economies in places like India and China are growing at an average rate of over 8 percent a year.
So while growth in oil consumption is nearly flat in the rich world, developing nations are eating up more and more fuel. [more]
http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/20/news/economy/oil_economy/index.htm?postversion=2008022013
 
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