Oil price over $147 for the first time-now above $80

[Cryomaniac]

Oil is over $120!

http://www.kitco.com/market

[HURAKAN]

Oil hits $120 a barrel milestone

The price of a barrel of oil has risen above $120 for the first time, driven by concerns about the situations in Nigeria and northern Iraq.

US light sweet crude rose to a record of $120.36 a barrel in morning trading in New York before falling back to $119.84, up $3.52 on the day.

Another factor pushing up the oil price has been the US dollar's weakness as investors opt to back commodities.

Since the beginning of the year, oil has hit a string of new highs.

'Lingering hotspot'

In Northern Iraq, Turkish forces have renewed cross-border raids against Kurdish insurgents.

Meanwhile in Nigeria, rebels have attacked oil wells and pipelines which feed an export terminal.

"Nigeria is the lingering hotspot the markets will be focusing on," said MF Global analyst Ed Meir.

He added that while some production in the oil-rich African nation, there were "reports of fresh violence, as another pipeline explosion has shut in more oil production".

The relationship between currency markets and commodity prices is a relatively new phenomenon, Damian Cox from John Hall Associates told the BBC last week.

"Since about August, commodities appear to have been responding to movements in the currency markets," he said.

"As the dollar has weakened, some people have moved into commodities."

In the past, a weakening US dollar would have been seen as a sign of weakness in the US economy, which would have meant that demand for oil was likely to fall and so the oil price would fall.

But now, some traders see commodities such as oil as a hedge against declining currencies.

So, if they were worried about the dollar falling in value, they might sell dollars and buy oil, for example.

[cycloneye]

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil futures hit an all-time record high Tuesday on worries about threats to supply and a weakening of the U.S. dollar.

U.S. crude for June delivery rose to a record $122 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday.

Analysts say the surge in oil prices was partly driven by hopes that the U.S. economy will be spared a sharp downturn after the release of data showing an unexpected expansion in the U.S. service sector in April.

Supply outages or potential threats to supply in Iran, Nigeria and Iraq, and the greenback's decline, also supported prices.


Oil Surpasses $122 for the First Time



Oil keeps rising in price and breaking another record high.

[Cryomaniac]

The price has risen $10 since Friday.

[cycloneye]

Oil prices rise to record near $123 a barrel on prediction of $200 oil, supply concerns


NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil futures blasted to a new record near $123 a barrel Tuesday, gaining momentum as investors bought on a forecast of much higher prices and on any news hinting at supply shortages. Retail gas prices edged lower, but appear poised to rise to new records of their own in coming weeks.

Oil nears $123



After the intraday spike the oil market closed at $121.84.

[KWT]

I have to say here in the Uk these oil rises are really starting to hit the drivers, esp people like myself who are new drivers and don't really have that much of an income since we only work part time at weekends. I have to admit i dread to think what it will rise to if a hurricane hits the gulf or any more instablity occurs in the middle east regions.

[cycloneye]

$200.Imagine if it gets to that number,$5+ a gallon,much more hike of air fares,heating bills much higher,people using much more mass transportation etc,etc,etc.

[KWT]

Yeah thats a pretty shocking price, what sort of timeframe would you guess though for that to happen?

[cycloneye]

Yeah thats a pretty shocking price, what sort of timeframe would you guess though for that to happen?

A new Goldman Sachs prediction that oil prices could rise between $150 to $200 within two years seemed to motivate much of Tuesday's buying,

[HURAKAN]

The problem in Miami is that the city wasn't built for a mass transit system. Our water table is very close to the surface, so there's no subway possible. The number of buses would have to dramatically increase to accomodate the millions of people that live the metropolitan area. That would cost a lot of money and Miami's government is always without money.

[KWT]

Ok thanks cycloneye, the problem here is that our govt keeps on raising the petrol tax along with the petrol rising anyway, whilst the effects aren't having a huge effect right now some people that drive for a living are starting to have a harder time now.

[cycloneye]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Oil prices touched another record Wednesday, spiking after an initial decline on a government report that said crude and gasoline supplies were stronger than expected last week.

Light sweet crude for June delivery settled at a record high of $123.53 a barrel, up $1.69 from the previous record of $121.84 a barrel set Tuesday.


New Record for Oil Prices $123.53



The record high prices for Oil keep breaking new record highs and today was no exception.

[Cryomaniac]

This is getting ridiculous. I don't have a drivers' license, so gas prices don't effect me directly, but it's pretty annoying for my family.

[HURAKAN]

It won't stop climbing up until the US government does something about it or the world comes to an standstill. The American dream today is being able to pay the bills and keep your current job.

[Cryomaniac]

It won't stop climbing up until the US government does something about it or the world comes to an standstill.

Unfortunately, it seems to be looking like the latter at the moment.

[gtalum]

It won't stop climbing up until the US government does something about it...

Sadly, the US government doesn't have the power to do anything about it because we import a large majority of our oil.

[Ed Mahmoud]

$200 oil won't happen unless there is a severe disruption in supply, like a Mid East war or Russian coup, as prices that high will drive the world's economy into a deep recession, even a depression, which will choke back demand enough to ease supply.


If $200 oil does happen without a major disruption, it'll mean a Weimar Republic style devaluation of the US dollar, with all commodities surging in price in a manner that would make the mid teens inflation of the Carter years look tame. Positively Third World style currency devaluation.

[Nimbus]

The US dollar is still struggling because the rest of the world is actually starting to tighten their interest rates to battle inflation. If the US federal reserve just stands by and waits for its interest rate cuts to resolve the housing bubble collapse higher european interest rates may continue to put pressure on the US dollar.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... fer=europe

Back in November when this thread first started we were expecting oil to reach $120 a barrel before summer. I suggested that GW might temporarily dump some of the strategic Petroleum reserve on the world market to bust the oil futures bubble. Most storm2kers back then thought using the SPR would be a bad idea and that we needed sustained high oil prices to change peoples energy use habits. The white house issued a statement saying "this president would not use the strategic petroleum reserves unless there was a legitimate oil shortage".

Has anyone changed their mind about using the SPR now that oil is above $120 a barrel? There have been pipeline outages and production cuts in some oil producing nations contributing to the current price run up. Unexpected supply cuts like that could be used to justify a release of the reserve.

I suppose it would be a political advantage for the republicans to wait until fall before the elections to bust the oil futures bubble.

[gtalum]

The SPR is too small to have any effect on oil prices. Using it when there's no true supply emergency is short-sighted.

[RL3AO]

In the next 30 years we will either develop widespread use of other fuel sources, the price of oil will cause a third world war, or the price of oil will cause a second great depression. Either way, all three of those solve global warming or make it irrelevant.