It was a schizophrenic day for gold and silver, which could do little right during regular trading but couldn’t be stopped in the after hours action.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) set a U.S. profit record today (Thursday) when it announced its third quarter profit topped $14.8 billion on record-high oil prices.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Friday said it would cut oil production quotas by 1.5 million barrels a day in an attempt to put a floor under oil prices, which have plunged nearly 60% from their July record.

The folks over at the Oil Drum have done an interesting analysis of oil prices and where they might be headed.

In the energy market Wednesday, crude for July delivery retreated again, closing at its lowest level in a month, $122.30/barrel, down $2.01. July reformulated gasoline plummeted 15 cents, or 4.5%, to $3.20/gallon.

The airline industry is a mess. Things are so out of whack that one airliner, American Airlines, announced last week that it was going to charge for the baggage that passengers check.

In the energy market Monday, crude for July delivery inched higher, closing at $127.76/barrel, up 41 cents. July reformulated gasoline opened as front-month contract by adding 4 cents to $3.39/gallon.

You hear it everywhere in the press… “Oil is in a bubble and it’s all down to speculators driving up the price”.

In the energy market Thursday, crude for July delivery retreated, closing at $126.62/barrel, down $4.41. June reformulated gasoline lost 5 cents, to $3.40/gallon.

Oil prices gained a dollar today to approach last week’s record high of $133 a barrel after Nigerian rebels blew up a pipeline belonging to Royal Dutch Shell, forcing it to cut production. This from the Financial Times:

Crude prices jumped on Monday in electronic trading as news of the attack broke, but analysts said the impact on prices spilled over into Tuesday, when exchanges on both side of the Atlantic re-opened after the long weekend.