Oil crosses $129 for first time, heads for $130

AP, via Yahoo!



Oil crosses $129 for first time, heads for $130
Tuesday May 20, 11:09 am ET
By Adam Schreck, AP Business Writer
Crude oil futures pass $129 a barrel for the first time, likely headed past $130


NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices spiked to a new trading high Tuesday, sweeping toward $130 a barrel as supply concerns intensified the momentum buying that has lifted crude deeper into record territory.
The June contract for light, sweet crude traded as high as $129.58 on the New York Mercantile Exchange before settling back to $129.12, up $2.07. The imminent expiration of the June contract created additional volatility in the market, and raised the very real possibility that crude could hit $130 before the end of the day, when the contract was ending.

Oil's trek toward $130 coincided with the Labor Department's report of an unexpectedly sharp rise in wholesale inflation last month. The combination raised fears that inflation will slice into Americans' discretionary spending, and that sent stocks falling sharply on Wall Street.

Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch & Associates in Galena, Ill., said prices were being supported by strong demand for diesel fuel in Asia, and a weakening of the U.S. dollar against the euro, which makes oil cheaper for some investors overseas.

"We're getting a combination of two price drivers this morning," he said.

Oil prices are now about twice as high as the were just a year ago. Prices have been propelled by a number of factors, including supply concerns, soaring global demand and a sliding dollar.

This latest surge comes after OPEC's president was quoted as saying his organization won't increase its output before its next meeting in September, adding to lingering worries about global supply. .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080520/oil_prices.html

failure. Wow that is shocking.

I understand the rage and frustration that leads people in some parts of the world to throw a rock at a tank that represents their oppression.

I don't know exactly what the number is. However, we do know that many industries are pushing the envelope of how much costs they can bear and still operate. Among these are the airlines and trucking. If the oil prices get much higher, these industries will be closing down. A mass collapse of the airline and trucking around the world would be bad for the oil business. In my opinion, those who control the oil price will back off just before reaching that tipping point.

A much better idea: If the major oil consuming nations would move 20% of the energy sources to alternate types, i.e. solar, wind, tidal and geothermal it would break the oil monopolies and stop all future nuclear power initiatives. That is the answer.

It doesn't take a genius to see that the only way out of the oil dependency is to move to the alternatives. Why aren't we doing this? The oil, coal and nuke advocates are fighting it in the media and the governments, particularly in the U.S.

When will be able to overcome the corporate control? Unfortunately, after major economies have already been driven out of business. It will be much more difficult to revive defunct businesses than it would have been to save them in the first place.

The human race seems to have a crocodilian mentality. That is, they will simply consume everything is sight regardless of future ramifications. The difference is that crocodiles have limits in their ability to kill everything. The human race, on the other hand, has the where-withal to annihilate themselves through over consumption and greed.

I use to full my civic up for $20 bucks - ah, those were the days.