mlb Wrote:Neither deserves credit for it. It is that cheap due to our crapping economy and no other reason.

Quote:David Frum: Maybe it takes a speculator to recognize a speculative bubble?

Over the weekend, George Soros gave an interview to the Daily Telegraph in which he described today's oil prices as a bubble ready to pop. Most analysts pooh-pooh the role of speculation in today's oil market, but some new evidence suggests that Soros may well be right.

My American Enterprise Institute colleague Desmond Lachman observes that institutional investors own and hold more than a quarter trillion dollars worth of oil today, up from virtually zero half a dozen years ago. If these positions were ever unwound they could exert an abrupt downward jolt to the price of oil.

Here's how it could happen: Imagine that you're a speculator. You own a bunch of oil you bought at prices ranging from $75 to $125 a barrel. You are hoping that the price will go to $200. But nothing lasts forever; already Americans are driving less and switching to more efficient cars. A recession in the United States would slash Chinese export earnings and slow the growth of the Chinese automobile market. As the U.S. and Chinese economy weakens and oil consumption dips, the price of oil begins to soften. It dips back below $125, then $120, then $115. As a speculator, you've lost money on your last purchases, yet you could still score a huge profit on the earlier ones if you act fast. But uh oh: your competitors have the same idea. You all rush for the exits at once and after a year of frenzy on the buy side, it's pandemonium on the sell side.

It's happened before. Between December 1985 and July 1986, the price of OPEC oil plunged by more than half, from $23.29 to under $10. They still remember the shock in Texas. I wonder if they remember it at the trading desks in London, New York, and Hong Kong?

GGniner Wrote:this was predicted back in atleast May, because it was an obvious Bubble ready to burst.

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/05/28/did_speculators_fuel_the_oil_runup/

Quote:David Frum: Maybe it takes a speculator to recognize a speculative bubble?

Over the weekend, George Soros gave an interview to the Daily Telegraph in which he described today's oil prices as a bubble ready to pop. Most analysts pooh-pooh the role of speculation in today's oil market, but some new evidence suggests that Soros may well be right.

My American Enterprise Institute colleague Desmond Lachman observes that institutional investors own and hold more than a quarter trillion dollars worth of oil today, up from virtually zero half a dozen years ago. If these positions were ever unwound they could exert an abrupt downward jolt to the price of oil.

Here's how it could happen: Imagine that you're a speculator. You own a bunch of oil you bought at prices ranging from $75 to $125 a barrel. You are hoping that the price will go to $200. But nothing lasts forever; already Americans are driving less and switching to more efficient cars. A recession in the United States would slash Chinese export earnings and slow the growth of the Chinese automobile market. As the U.S. and Chinese economy weakens and oil consumption dips, the price of oil begins to soften. It dips back below $125, then $120, then $115. As a speculator, you've lost money on your last purchases, yet you could still score a huge profit on the earlier ones if you act fast. But uh oh: your competitors have the same idea. You all rush for the exits at once and after a year of frenzy on the buy side, it's pandemonium on the sell side.

It's happened before. Between December 1985 and July 1986, the price of OPEC oil plunged by more than half, from $23.29 to under $10. They still remember the shock in Texas. I wonder if they remember it at the trading desks in London, New York, and Hong Kong?

I blame the speculators, but its nice to see yet again the "Peak Oil" crazies squirm.

Putin will probably make a major play in spring/summer months ahead which will throw a wrench into this

MU ATO Wrote:what I find hilarious is that price of oil per barrell can go up a few cents and gas shoots up through the roof.

However reverse it and the price per barrell has dropped like an old woman's boobs and gas prices are dropping slower than Jessica Simpson on the guys from *******.

Tripster Wrote:.
Well someone needs to inform the LP Gas Industry of this "Drop In Prices" !!!

Filled my Propane Tank this week at $2.75 per gallon, I get it at $2.65 since I am on a "Keep Full Account", but still that is almost a dollar above Auto Fuel.

GGniner Wrote:

Tripster Wrote:.
Well someone needs to inform the LP Gas Industry of this "Drop In Prices" !!!

Filled my Propane Tank this week at $2.75 per gallon, I get it at $2.65 since I am on a "Keep Full Account", but still that is almost a dollar above Auto Fuel.

odds are you can blame Ethanol mandates for that, though I'm not 100% sure. What was cost of Propane in relation to Gasoline 2004 and before?

If you recall, Diesel use to be cheaper than Gasoline(which is good since our goods are transported by its use). The Reason Diesel cost so much more than Gas now, has alot to do with Govt. Regulations and Mandates. There is limited Refining capacity, which Ethanol was forced in and took some of it over which reduced Diesel refining capacity. and of course there's been for awhile the different Environmental standards, which cause the same problem. If the Refinaries only had to worry with producing a few different grades of gas for the country, the cost would go down substantially.