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Jittery afternoon in the oil markets, where crude futures plunged $3 in less than a minute shortly before 2 p.m., for no immediately obvious reason. In such cases, the chatter inevitably turns to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. But we have no credible reports of a release at this point. Heck, we don’t even have a shady report to point to. CNBC’s befuddled anchors are just now floating the idea that options expiry may be playing a role. And CNBC has a White House spokesman saying there’s no change to the strategic petroleum reserve. “Fat finger” error? Probably not: Brent moved...

Opportunity hidden in the wide spread between WTI and Brent crude. The crude market may be trying to tell us something, and here's the biggest hint: The price difference between crude traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange and the IntercontinentalExchange has touched its widest level ever. Despite concerns over tight-gasoline supplies and production uncertainties related to the Middle East and Nigeria, crude futures on Nymex fell almost 5% during the month of May, with the July contract unable to climb past $68 a barrel. But prices for July Brent crude climbed as high as $71.80 that month. "There has...

Oil Prices Drop More Than $1 a Barrel As Tensions Ease in the Britain-Iran Standoff NEW YORK (AP) -- Crude oil prices plunged more than $1 a barrel Tuesday as tensions eased in the standoff between Britain and Iran over captive British military personnel. Prices had risen steadily since 15 British sailors and marines were detained March 23 by Iran for allegedly entering Iranian waters. On Monday, crude finished below $66 a barrel, paring earlier gains after Iran's chief international negotiator called for an end to "the language of force" in the dispute. Light, sweet crude for May delivery dropped...

VIENNA, Austria, Feb 10th, 2005 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- Crude oil futures prices rose Thursday, as traders weighed U.S. data showing a surprisingly large drop in crude stocks against a report suggesting inventories were adequate in the industrialized countries. Crude for March delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 70 cents to $46.16 per barrel in electronic trading by late morning in Europe. Heating oil rose 1.68 cent to $1.2810 Brent crude rose 77 cents on the International Petroleum Exchange to $43.90. Against expectations, U.S. crude stocks fell by a million barrels last week to 294.3 million barrels...

NEW YORK : Crude oil futures surged more than two dollars a barrel as markets reacted to a fresh labor dispute in Venezuela and signs that OPEC producers may cut output again later this month. February crude futures closed at 45.56 dollars a barrel, up 2.17 dollars on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, the contract for Brent futures jumped 2.34 dollars to close at 42.85 dollars a barrel. Oil workers and the government in Venezuela were reportedly arguing over a tentative agreement reached last week, said Phil Flynn, a US-based analyst at Alaron Trading. The reports are leading...