Oil Prices Touch Fresh Nine-Month Peaks

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices touched fresh nine-month peaks on Thursday after a heavy fall in U.S. fuel stocks just as the world's biggest energy consumer braces for another bout of cold weather.
New York crude futures rose 30 cents to $33.65 after hitting $33.78 in electronic trade, the highest front month point since March 18. London Brent was up 24 cents at $30.83 a barrel.

SNIP

OPEC's biggest producer, Saudi Arabia, expressed less concern about prices. Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi has said current prices were justified by the weakness of the dollar against major currencies, which reduced oil producers' purchasing power.

SNIP

Prices have been supported by strong fuel demand growth in China and by repeated sabotage against Iraq's oil facilities which has delayed a return to pre-war export levels.

A senior Iraqi oil official said on Wednesday Iraq's northern export pipeline, running from the northern Kirkuk oilfields to the Mediterranean oil export port of Ceyhan, had come under fresh attacks on the day the U.S. announced the weekend capture of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

http://news.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&storyID=4013794

Peak Oil?

US oil imports 'to hit 70% of demand by 2025'

http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1071251599224&p=1012571727162

China to become world second biggest oil importer next year: report
According to the International Energy Agency, China is the current driving force in oil demand, contributing almost 35 percent of global growth this year and 30 percent in 2004

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific_business/view/58404/1/.html

1. The falling dollar makes oil more expensive for us.

2. Bush cannot pull us out of the recession with these high oil prices. High oil prices in 1979, 1991, and 2000 caused three recessions I recall. This will be a "double-U" shaped recession, or "W" when growth is viewed on a time chart.

Would any economists care to comment? (I know there is a professor here).

nt