$100 a barrel

[BW]

Finally =\

http://www.reuters.com/article/hotStock ... dChannel=0 (http://www.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNews/idUST3904820080102?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0)


Oil hits record $100 a barrel
Wed Jan 2, 2008 4:00pm EST

By Richard Valdmanis

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices vaulted to a record $100 a barrel on Wednesday as violence in Nigeria, tight energy stockpiles and a weaker dollar triggered a surge of speculative buying, dealers said.

Oil's climb to the psychologically key triple-digit price helped send stocks tumbling on Wall Street and further darkened an already gloomy economic outlook in the United States, which has been battered by a housing crisis and credit crunch.

"Oil hitting $100 a barrel has sparked some concerns about the consumer and inflation," said Todd Salamone, vice president of research at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

U.S. crude traded once at $100 a barrel, up $4.02, before easing back to settle $3.64 higher at $99.62. London Brent crude rose $3.99 to $97.84.

"Oil could rise further from here. It's simple supply-and-demand fundamentals," said Kris Voorspools, energy analyst at Fortis in Brussels.

The White House said it would not open up the nation's emergency crude oil reserve to lower prices, while two members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said the cartel was powerless to bring the market down from its lofty height.

Crude prices jumped 58 percent in 2007, the biggest annual gain this decade. Oil prices have nearly tripled since 2000 -- driven by rising demand in China and other developing countries, tight stockpiles and geopolitical turmoil.

Weakness in the dollar has added to gains across the commodity sector as investors supported the underlying value of products denominated in the softening currency. Continued...

Now that we've crossed that psychological barrier, how much higher can it go? For that matter, how much lower will the US dollar sink?

Closer to home, how will our twin island nation and our Caricom neighbors deal with the higher transport costs, higher food prices, and an overall higher cost of doing business?

May God help us.

[oecarb]

Finally =\
Closer to home, how will our twin island nation and our Caricom neighbors deal with the higher transport costs, higher food prices, and an overall higher cost of doing business?


And the increased revenues......

[BW]

Finally =\
Closer to home, how will our twin island nation and our Caricom neighbors deal with the higher transport costs, higher food prices, and an overall higher cost of doing business?


And the increased revenues......

Well, maybe for some quarters.

The tourism sector, in particular, is probably going to suffer because of the high price of transport between islands and from the major foreign markets (the US and UK).

One interesting thing I've noticed while in Grenada is that it's actually more economical to purchase imported bottled water (Blue Waters), than to buy the local brands. The increased transport costs might change that balance. Wouldn't it be likely that these higher fuel prices will hinder intra-regional trade and growth?

[lexbarker]

Why worry. The US official inflation rate is only 2.2%.

[discipuli]

This is a GOOD thing in some ways i think , it will slow down fossil fuel use and encourage the development of alternative sources of energy , which will help slow the pace of climate change .

In the short term it will mean higher fuel prices , food prices and inflation.

Higher oil prices also make some oil reserves profitable to exploit , like the Oil sands in Canada , or ultra deep deposits in the oceans etc.

Overall technology will move forward as it finally has a stimulus , in the early days when oil was less than 2 dollars a barrel , all you needed to do was buss a hole in the ground in a place like texas.

Cheap energy has been a crutch as much as it has been a blessing, If we manage to survive the next century man will definately harness fusion power , put colonies on the moon and mars, and perhaps end hunger , famine and poverty in the process .

[lexbarker]

Oil- around 114 a barrel... Trinni must be rich.
Hope that they make good use of it.

[oecarb]

Oil- around 114 a barrel... Trinni must be rich.
Hope that they make good use of it.

$125 and climbing.......

[Double Trouble]

Oil- around 114 a barrel... Trinni must be rich.
Hope that they make good use of it.

Yeah! The odds are greater that I will wake up tomorrow with ah nine inch monster in my boxers.

[greall]

Oil- around 114 a barrel... Trinni must be rich.
Hope that they make good use of it.

That'll be the rate that Petrotrin would be paying for the 50,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) that they need to have the refinery on continuous operation so I doubt that they'll be that happy about the present oil price seeing that our rate of production's a little above 50,000 bopd from land and marine fields.

Greg