Oil = $135 a barrel

[War Wagon]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080522/bs_ ... ets_oil_dc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Why the fuck is there a "surprise drawdown" in U.S. crude oil inventories, and how the fuck does the Tokyo stock exchange get word of this before we do?

This is bogus. There are no "surprises" when it comes to knowing how much crude oil is on hand.

For some reason, oil prices are being artificially inflated. There's no fucking shortage, and at some point all the stupid fucks speculating that oil is going to continue rising are going to be left holding a gigantic bag of overpriced securities, just like investors in sub prime mortgages.

In the meantime, get ready to grab your ass with both hands before heading to the pump.

[War Wagon]

Just in time for Memorial Day weekend I might add, so the price at the pump reaches you before you head to the lake.

Fuckers will keep at it until Labor Day to encompass the entire vacation season and then mark my words, the crash happens.

[poptart]

Meanwhilesum, ... Amish recruitment hits an all-time high.

[huh?]

Could someone explain to me how/why comodity traders can effect the price of things like food and oil without a hint of regulation?

TIA

[smackaholic]

Regulation is not the answer. Just how the fukkk do you regulate what some sand monkey in the middle east wants to charge, anyhoo?

It's real fukking simple. When the price gets high enough we will actually stop using so much earl and the price will drop. Also, we will see other sources of energy become financially viable.

Bitching and whining to the gubmint to keep our fix of cheap oil coming is not there yob.

As for me, I am gonna keep riding my Trek to work. I just hope the fukk they do something before I have to buy more heating oil next winter.

[BSmack]

Regulation is not the answer. Just how the fukkk do you regulate what some sand monkey in the middle east wants to charge, anyhoo?

It's real fukking simple. When the price gets high enough we will actually stop using so much earl and the price will drop. Also, we will see other sources of energy become financially viable.

8 years ago oil was 20 dollars a barrel. Now it's over 130. Do you really think the world is using 6 times as much oil as we were 8 years ago?

[Sirfindafold]

8 years ago oil was 20 dollars a barrel. Now it's over 130. Do you really think the world is using 6 times as much oil as we were 8 years ago?

.....and the oil that was pulled out of the ground the past 8 years was magically replaced.

Maybe you should ask your heroes Dick Durbin and Chucky Schumer. After that dog and pony show they ran yesterday with the oil execs, they should be able to answer your questions.

[jiminphilly]

Regulation is not the answer. Just how the fukkk do you regulate what some sand monkey in the middle east wants to charge, anyhoo?

It's real fukking simple. When the price gets high enough we will actually stop using so much earl and the price will drop. Also, we will see other sources of energy become financially viable.

8 years ago oil was 20 dollars a barrel. Now it's over 130. Do you really think the world is using 6 times as much oil as we were 8 years ago?

Count on the barrell hitting about $150-

There are quite a few reasons for the the rapid rise this year from what I have read-

China and India's demand far exceeds what it was in 2007 and that caught the markey by surprise.
non-OPEC production is down (Russia especially)
Attacks on oil fields in Nigeria
Strike at a scotland oil refinery


Were all of these conditions around 8 years ago?

[Goober McTuber]

For some reason, oil prices are being artificially inflated. There's no fucking shortage, and at some point all the stupid fucks speculating that oil is going to continue rising are going to be left holding a gigantic bag of overpriced securities, just like investors in sub prime mortgages.

Pssst. Whitey, they’re the same people.

http://market-ticker.denninger.net/2008 ... esday.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[PSUFAN]

After that dog and pony show they ran yesterday with the oil execs, they should be able to answer your questions.

Pardon me, simpleton. I know you just want to quack out what Hannity dripped into your ears yesterday, but you should give this a little thought. If indeed oil execs and corporations are not taking unfair advantage of market conditions, then they should be able to make that case with substance at this "dog and pony show".

[LTS TRN 2]

Regulation is not the answer. I am gonna keep riding my donkey to work. I just hope the fukk they do something before I have to buy more heating oil next winter.

Don't worry, our true friend Hugo Chavez will be sending you and other (Bush-raped) Americans free heating oil again this winter.

Yes, I am dedicated to the freedom of South and Central American nations from the military and economic aggression of corporate entities. And I will send free heating oil again this winter to the innocent United States citizens who have been shamelessly exploited by the rapacious fiends who, unlike myself, stole their elections. I'm your true friend.

[Mikey]

I'm hoping to see $200 a barrel oil by the end of the summer.

[Cuda]

No wonder they don't have any food in Venezuela. The moron in charge keeps giving away his country's product for cheap propaganda stunts.

Thanks, Hugo. Ya fat, dumb fuck.

Actually, he's giving away China's oil for cheap propaganda stunts. He's already sold the oil to the chinks, he's just not delivering it to them on schedule. So far, they're letting him slide

[Risa]

my personal opinion: just about everybody dissing on war wagon and bsmack now, are going to do the 'mission accomplished/nigerian yellow cake' backflip in about a decade. i was through with the excuses after Katrina Year 1. i didn't know it was common knowledge, but apparently to the older heads shit like prudhoe bay and the 70s 'oil crisis' exposes current explanations for what they really are: bullshit fronting for more complex global politics than just 'more demand'.

[War Wagon]

Here you go.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Eco ... 6Dj07.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Holy Fuck! :brad: :brad: :brad:

Did anybody else actually read all that?

If all that's correct, and I suspect it is, we're getting bent over 6 ways from Sunday and our own government authorized the changes in regulatory activity that allowed it to occur right under our noses.

What a fucking scam. We're getting raped, pillaged, and plundered by oil futures speculating, not by the laws of Supply vs. Demand.

Impeach every last one of the elected officials who let this happen, and return oversight to an agency that will do just that.

[Mister Bushice]

Americans this week are paying $2.91 a gallon on average for regular gasoline – 33 cents higher than last month, and double the price than when President Bush first came to office.

$2.91 on average? It's $3.97 out here. Where the fuck in America is gas only $1.85?

[War Wagon]

I don't think the run up on prices is entirely due to that reason, but I believe it certainly is a serious factor. In any event, the lack of transparency to these transactions is flatly unacceptable.

So what can be done about it, and is the damage irreversible?

One fact they also left out is that the Peak Oil myth is largely driven by these same investment banks and hedge fund managers for reasons that should be all too obvious by now.

Obvious reasons? You're talking primarily about greed, are you not?

I just read that article thru a 2nd time. There's a lot to digest and get your arms around. It almost made my head explode the first time. This should be common knowledge to anyone pissed off about high gas/diesel prices, while we helplessly pay thru the nose.

I get more infuriated the more I think about how we're getting fucked over by greedy bastards in positions of trust and responsibility who are no doubt lining their own pockets all the while.

Among the many enlightening revelations (at least to me) in that article, I guess this one sums it up best:

Is that not elegant? The US government energy futures regulator, CFTC, opened the way to the present unregulated and highly opaque oil futures speculation. The present chief executive officer of NYMEX, James Newsome, who also sits on the Dubai Exchange, is a former chairman of the US CFTC. In Washington doors revolve quite smoothly between private and public posts.

[Derron]

In the meantime, get ready to grab your ass with both hands .

Something you have doing quite well for a long time here, just prior to your most recent plungering.

[Derron]

We're getting raped, pillaged, and plundered

Again, you should be quite well versed and not at all surprised in all those aspects of modern capitalism.

[War Wagon]

Yeah, sure... way to make the turn from page 1 to 2... thanks for the contribution, Dorron. That was really quite insightful.

[Tom In VA]

Some sobering reads in regards to this.


http://www.businessandmedia.org/article ... 45247.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

$12.00 A gallon "inevitable"

http://www.aspo-usa.com/index.php?optio ... &Itemid=91" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

On April 13, Reuters reported the following from Riyadh:
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah said he had ordered some new oil discoveries left untapped to preserve oil wealth in the world's top exporter for future generations…

"When there were some new finds, I told them, 'no, leave it in the ground, with grace from god, our children need it'," King Abdullah said…

Saudi production capacity stands at around 11.3 million bpd, and is scheduled to rise to 12.5 million bpd next year.

The King’s remarks seem to confirm a statement made last year by Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi who, when asked “How high can your production go?” replied, “We’ll get to 12.5 million barrels a day and then we’ll see.”

Tom Petrie, vice president, Merrill Lynch:

“King Abdullah’s quote speaks to the fast-emerging reality of what I call ‘practical peak oil.’ The Saudis and other exporters are placing a new emphasis on elongating the petroleum exploitation and depletion cycle. This stems from a growing awareness of the challenges of conventional resource maturity, as well as rising resource nationalism. This is likely to result in an earlier occurrence of global peak oil output than many consumers yet recognize.”

And a dude from BP

Jeremy Gilbert, BP’s retired chief petroleum engineer:

“I have no idea whether there was a real choice for the Saudis to make. Perhaps it's all 'spin'; perhaps there were discoveries, but there was some property of the reservoirs which made them very difficult to develop, and it made sense to delay development until improved technology or much higher prices arrived; perhaps it's the plain basic truth - a very rare commodity.

“What I do know is that several countries in the Gulf have long chosen to operate their fields with depletion rates far below those that a Western company would consider optimal, or even sensible. Depletion rates of between 1 and 2%/ per year are not uncommon in the United Arab Emirates. Local leaders have repeatedly said that they feel an obligation to preserve some of their natural resources. These feelings must be intensified when their recent production has been sold for US dollars which have depreciated by 25% or more against other strong world currencies over the last four years.

“The countries around the Gulf, which would once have come to the aid of a faltering U.S., now are either delighted about the U.S. plight or just don't care. They are not going to do anything to reduce world oil prices. Instead, they are going to maximize their economic take while minimizing depletion of their sole natural resource.”

As for Peak Oil being a myth, I'm not so sure on that. Frankly, I don't know what the fuck to believe. Myth or not, the "power of perception" is a very difficult thing to overcome. And over-speculation, hype and paranoia that caused the Great Depression are any indicators, this Peak Oil thing seems to be catching fire like an oil field. I First learned of Peak Oil from http://www.fromthewilderness.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. A conspiracy theorist, well credentialed though in my opinion Ruppert has been very vocal about it.

I don't have the slightest clue, but I thought the information was worth sharing for those interested.

[LTS TRN 2]

Here you go.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Eco ... 6Dj07.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Holy Fuck! :brad: :brad: :brad:

Did anybody else actually read all that?

.

Indeed, it should be mainstream news immediately. 60 Minutes, whatever. The evil cleverness of "look-alike futures," the trail straight back to Chenron, the sheer corporate gluttony exposed as a malignancy unto itself and the world, it is indeed that to which we must wakey wake.

[KC Scott]

I don't think the run up on prices is entirely due to that reason, but I believe it certainly is a serious factor. In any event, the lack of transparency to these transactions is flatly unacceptable.

One fact they also left out is that the Peak Oil myth is largely driven by these same investment banks and hedge fund managers for reasons that should be all too obvious by now.

As with all speculation though, when actual Supply exceeds demand - The real (not paper) demand for oil itself is down and much is just being stored in tankers off shore just waiting for higher prices. When oil starts to drop at some point all that supply sitting will either have to hedge or go into port to sell and that could cause a big price move.

What's also not mentioned in this thread is the same scenario is also occuring in commodities like wheat and corn. Hedge funds, ETF's and other financial instruments are pushing the "Paper" prices higher, even though supply appears abundent.

Here's another article on what's happening: http://frontlinethoughts.com/gateway.asp
(enter your email to read the entire article)

The author makes an interesting analogy:

"Think about it this way: If Wall Street concocted a scheme whereby investors bought large amounts of pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices in order to profit from the resulting increase in prices, making these essential items unaffordable to sick and dying people, society would be justly outraged."

It's spot on that not enough people understand exactly what is happening with Crude and Food.

[War Wagon]

As with all speculation though, when actual Supply exceeds demand - The real (not paper) demand for oil itself is down and much is just being stored in tankers off shore just waiting for higher prices. When oil starts to drop at some point all that supply sitting will either have to hedge or go into port to sell and that could cause a big price move.

Nice call, Scott.

Oil drops below $129 a barrel

NEW YORK - Oil prices dropped below $129 a barrel Tuesday, falling sharply on a growing sense that soaring gas and oil prices have cut demand for fuel during the normally busy summer driving season.

It was just a matter of time before Americans fed up with exorbitant fuel prices parked the SUV and stayed the fuck home instead of driving to the lake, the beach, the mountains, or where ever over the holiday week-end.

It was a good start to helping drive down costs, but there's a long way to go just to make it thru the summer. Never thought I'd be looking forward to seeing gas at slightly less than $3 a gallon, but I'd be good with that at this point.

[Risa]

Here's another article on what's happening: http://frontlinethoughts.com/gateway.asp
(enter your email to read the entire article)

The author makes an interesting analogy:

"Think about it this way: If Wall Street concocted a scheme whereby investors bought large amounts of pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices in order to profit from the resulting increase in prices, making these essential items unaffordable to sick and dying people, society would be justly outraged."

It's spot on that not enough people understand exactly what is happening with Crude and Food.

That is an interesting analogy, an arresting one. It needs to wider readership. Thank you for putting this up; it will be interesting, as well, to see what other's counter thoughts are.

(And War Wagon, did that many people in the US really stop using their vehicles to counter the usual 'rise in demand in China' arguments used to justify why the prices are so high in the first place?)

[Mister Bushice]

yeah, those tankers don't make jack shit sitting in the ocean burning fuel and paying employees. With the price of oil these days they can't help but profit to get it to shore as quickly as they can.

[Risa]

(And War Wagon, did that many people in the US really stop using their vehicles to counter the usual 'rise in demand in China' arguments used to justify why the prices are so high in the first place?)

If you don't think demand for a product affects the price of that product or that it is all just some big conspiracy, you are a fucking moron.

What? I don't think you intended to equate the two as not only being equal to one another, but equally verifiable and true. Or did you?

Yes, I believe there's significant price manipulation going on with the price of gas which has nothing to do with supply or demand. I believe world politics comes into play. I haven't heard much about upping the number of refineries even now. I don't believe drilling in Alaska will fix things.

The Department of Transportation said figures from March show the steepest decrease in driving ever recorded.

Compared with March a year earlier, Americans drove an estimated 4.3 percent less — that’s 11 billion fewer miles, the DOT’s Federal Highway Administration said Monday, calling it “the sharpest yearly drop for any month in FHWA history.” Records have been kept since 1942.

http://www.impactlab.com/2008/05/27/gas ... oric-rate/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[/quote]

Again, is that really enough to offset all the tea drinkers in China?

and then KC Scott writes of an artificial decrease in supply to take advantage of profits caused by increased demand. It will be interesting to read a confirmation of that actually occuring with the oil tankers (we know its already occurring with the lack of refineries).

What is on record is that the gas companies themselves are in print as sticking it to the mom and pop franchisees since they can't stick it to the consumer. Is that because of all the tea drinkers in China? or is a lot of this just greed? Why take it from franchisees?

How much profit is too little profit, for stockholders?

People dropped their driving after Hurricane Katrina, people changed their driving habits, and now we're at $4 gas. Because of 'China'. People got used to $3. People will get used to $4. We'll never see sub $3 again, just as we were told we'd never see sub $2 again.

I am glad that people are not buying the SUVs and shit out there to the point where (again, as I read in the Sunday paper) Ford is scrapping plans to try to post a profit because there is no longer a big market for its Dick-Substitute Vehicles. Back to having folks buy those cars who were meant to buy those cars in the first place, I hope.

[Cuda]

speaking of dick-substitute vehicles, IB, are you still riding that seatless bicycle?