Peak oil — once considered the domain of conspiracy theory buffs — has become hard economic fact, as fears of an oil production shortage within five years sent long-term oil futures to almost $140 a barrel today.

This from the Financial Times:

The spot price of Nymex West Texas Intermediate hit a record $130.30 a barrel on Wednesday. On Tuesday investors had rushed to buy oil futures contracts as far forward as December 2016, pushing their prices as high as $139.50 a barrel, up more than $9.50 on the day.

Veteran traders said they had never seen such a jump and said investors were increasingly betting that oil production would soon peak because of geopolitical and geological constraints.

“The dollar is one major culprit behind skyhigh oil prices, says Justice Litle in Taipan Daily, “but there are many other small factors that add up.”

“For example, China, after suffering through its worst earthquake in decades, has had to shut down mines and wells for safety reasons. Apart from the terrible human tragedy of more than 34,000 lives lost, this can only add upward pressure to oil prices.

“In South America, Venezuelan oil exports recently dropped to a five-year low, and evidence is mounting that the country has become a state sponsor of terrorism under Hugo Chavez.

“In Nigeria, rebels continue to keep oil and gas production on a knife edge. In places like Russia and Mexico, oil and gas output is declining at an eye-opening rate.

“The little things pile up; if it’s not one thing, it’s another. This is generally the case when supply and demand are so tightly matched there is almost no margin for error. That’s where we stand now in terms of global oil demand vs. available daily supply.”