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Oil Prices Climb to New Record High ($46+)
Forbes ^ | August 13, 2004 | Staff

Posted on 08/13/2004 11:50:27 AM PDT by Jomini

Oil prices kept climbing Friday on concerns about vulnerable and stretched supplies. Energy analysts said the uncertainty could be adding as much as $8 a barrel to prices, pointing to a continuing insurgency in U.S.-occupied Iraq, suspicions terrorists could again strike Saudi Arabia's production facilities, and unrest elsewhere.

Crude oil for September delivery rose 30 cents to $45.80 a barrel in midday trading Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, past the fresh record struck Thursday of $45.50. September Brent crude rose 23 cents to $42.52 on London's International Petroleum Exchange, threatening the previous day's record high - not adjusted for inflation - of $42.29 per barrel.

"The sentiment in the market is that there are more bad things going to happen to the market than good things," said Sam Dale, bureau chief at Energy Intelligence in Singapore.

"By 'bad things' we mean supply restrictions: Speculators are looking at things like an attack on Saudi Arabia, more disruption of exports from Iraq, civil unrest in Nigeria, strikes and civil unrest in Venezuela," Dale added.

Also, Russian oil giant Yukos is locked in a battle against bankruptcy in that country's courts over a disputed $3.5 billion back-tax bill.

"If any of those (bad events) happen, they take crude off the market," said Dale. "The problem with that is ... where is the extra oil going to come from?"

Oil prices have risen about 3.5 percent over the past week, pushing to a series of new highs. However, when adjusted for inflation, oil still costs about $12 a barrel less than it did leading up to the first Gulf war.

Heavy fighting in southern Iraq renewed fears of a disruption of Iraq's vital oil supplies, and traders said the tense situation would help keep crude prices high. Iraq exports 1.7 million barrels a day of oil, or about 2 percent of daily global consumption.

U.S. and Iraqi forces pressed on Friday with an offensive on the Iraqi city of Najaf to quell an uprising by militiamen loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Al-Sadr loyalists have threatened to blow up oil pipelines and port infrastructure if an offensive is launched on the city's Imam Ali shrine.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Foreign Affairs; Politics/Elections; Russia; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: energyprices; oil; walkoffgrandslam
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To: Conservative Infidel

The textile industries do the same. I may be wrong about this but I believe we export most of our domestic lumber harvest and import and tremendous amount of foreign lumber.


41 posted on 08/13/2004 2:40:03 PM PDT by zarf
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To: Tanniker Smith

I was just about to say that it is time to short...


42 posted on 08/13/2004 3:00:51 PM PDT by TopQuark
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To: Jomini

The pocket book voters are going to vote socialist with this type of economic news coming out. They will look at the jobs report and go, duh, we got to elect the communist Kerry to FIX everything as he has promised he would do. //sarcasm off//


43 posted on 08/13/2004 3:02:28 PM PDT by RetiredArmy (The time is coming for all true Patriots to rise up and take back this Republic!)
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To: HorsePlayer

>Got M&M's on sale through the end of the month. Had to raise my price on Marlboro's to cover my losses on the M&M's. If the Marlboro sales hold strong,<

That's great for the big boys.Help out the little guys.They represent plus business.Hershey and Mars just swap back and forth.


44 posted on 08/13/2004 3:03:59 PM PDT by Blessed
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To: TopQuark
I was just about to say that it is time to short...

Soros just did.

46 posted on 08/13/2004 3:10:25 PM PDT by steve86
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To: zarf

You are absolutely correct.


47 posted on 08/13/2004 4:02:12 PM PDT by Conservative Infidel
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To: Jomini
Hello Fusion

Also, Russian oil giant Yukos is locked in a battle against bankruptcy in that country's courts over a disputed $3.5 billion back-tax bill.

This is true except for the fact that Putin has guranteed continued selling of oil which has actually increased.

Problem is, Saudies can not hold to their promises because they can not pump more. Iraq sold some oil which is no longer the reality...but the main problem is China...China is doing mass industrialization all out of proportion to market demands...again the facists who run it have very limited understanding of markets and market demand...so they over produce and in so doing drive up prices of all commodities...which drive up prices of other market goods...but at the same time it drive down returns...they also do not seem to get that in bankrupting the West, they in turn assure own destruction. This is for the reason that few Chinese able to buy the crap they make....as such they must rely on others who can.

A smart (none x-communist come facist) Chinese leaders would assure that their population able to buy own goods and thus make own driving force and demand, not just rely on other nations, which go bankrupt in debt.

48 posted on 08/15/2004 3:28:51 PM PDT by RussianConservative (Xristos: the Light of the World)
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