Crude oil prices have fallen following Bernanke’s utterance of the ‘R’ word at yesterday’s congressional hearing.

Concern that crude and fuel stockpiles are higher than average also weighed on crude prices. US gasoline stockpiles are above their five-year seasonal average.

Crude oil for May delivery fell by as much as $1.28 to $103.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in electronic trade. Yesterday crude oil jumped nearly $4 a barrel.

Why has the oil price stayed above $100, when all other commodity classes have shown larger falls?

“A US energy economist has a neat explanation as to why this is happening to crude oil prices,” says Garry White, editor of Oustanding Investments UK.

“Writing in the Financial Times, Ohio Northern University Energy Economist AF Alhajji, said that Opec’s vanishing excess capacity was now keeping the oil price above $100. He argued that Gulf States’ power crises were now a primary driver of the oil price.”