What is driving Oil prices to $100 a barrell of Crude. I know there is only finite supply, but why the urgency

What is driving Oil prices to $100 a barrell of Crude. I know there is only finite supply, but why the urgency of the move. Why is moving up so fast. In the past in went up but moderately over several decades.What is driving Oil prices to $100 a barrell of Crude. I know there is only finite supply, but why the urgency
out of control futures market speculators.


the price may go down before the next election. then jump if the democrats get elected.





10 years ago the oil futures price was based on what had ';happened';


now the futures prices are based on what ';might'; happen.What is driving Oil prices to $100 a barrell of Crude. I know there is only finite supply, but why the urgency
Oil is a commodity, like potatoes or pork bellies. The price goes up and down based on what buyers think is going to happen in the future. If there are disturbing uncertainties such as the assassination of Bhutto, buyers tend to believe that oil supplies may be disrupted in the future.
It isn't a conspiracy of oil companies or OPEC. Tomcat got it right. The latest spike is due to troubles in Nigeria. Since the US market is by far the biggest and we get much our oil from there, speculators assume that there might be an increase. Much of it is artificial but it is market forces. China and India have increased the demand. Newer supplies are having trouble keeping up. Refineries are getting upgraded and maintained. Continued trouble in the middle east and Tehran with nukes seemingly inevitable with Israel poised to strike.... etc.
David T couldn't think of anything smart to say (as usual) so he said something racist (as usual).
OPEC is testing the waters to see just how much we are willing to pay for it by controlling supply. I think they are finding we will pay quite a bit more. People need to start conserving, Congress needs to clear the way for more refineries and offshore development of oil fields. I am not optimistic that any of that will happen though.
One word....GREED.


Think its high now, wait till the Arabs follow through on their threat to deal in Euros and drop the dollar!
supply and demand, my man! Yea sure there is a terrorist premium in the price of oil, but that has been there for years....at least since sept. 11, 2001, but perhaps since the 70s.





The thing that has driven the price of oil up so much in the last few years has been the lack of new supply coming on the market coupled with the fact that every year, the world consumes about 2% more oil than the previous year. Also, it is becoming more likely that the US will be heading into a recession soon, and this normally REDUCES demand for oil. However, all the inventory numbers coming in have shown no increase in our oil supplies at all, implying that even though the US demand for oil may be slowing, the rest of the world (China especially) is using a LOT more oil. Hence the price continues to rise.





Have you ever heard of peak oil? This site will explain things nicely!





http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/





I bet in 5 years we're gonna look back and dream about the days when crude only was $100!








Diogenes - contact me through yahoo if you want! I know you love this stuff!
Nigeria is in turmoil and the assassination of Bhutto are causing people to worry about whether the supply will be interrupted or not. Adjusted for inflation the highest oil prices were in 1981. OPEC is cutting back exports.





Good news though electric cars are becoming more practical and there is a lot of oil shale in the west near the rocky mountains. 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil. 3 times the proven amount that saudi arabia has. we still have more offshore oil too as well as in alaska. We shouldn't be using oil for producing electricity as much we should switch to coal or nuclear but nuclear has a bad rep. Most ';green'; energy sources aren't very reliable.








http://www.nuwireinvestor.com/articles/r鈥?/a>
Chaos in Pakistan is a recent situation that certainly added to the increased price. US threatening Iran doesn't make oil cheaper, that's for sure. China is growing like crazy, and demanding more and more oil. And of course, the rest of the world wants oil just as much as it did before.





Huge demand, uncertain supply -- voila! high prices
It is a reflection of the speed at which third world is catching up with developed nations. Finished products supplies are saturated in most countries. Cheap and generics products are up agaisnt patented products. Raw material supplies are having a better competition agaisnt dumping of finished products. The focus is China.
Nigerians hacking each other up with machetes is the cause of the latest spike in prices I believe. Essentially wall street has no other place to make a quick buck except the oil business, they certainly aren't profiting from green technology.





http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=2鈥?/a>


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Because most of the oil is in other countries that are also rip off artists