In the energy market Monday, oil eked out a small gain, with crude for December delivery closing at $62.41/barrel, up $1.37 from Friday. December reformulated gasoline added a penny and three-quarters, to $1.3679/gallon.
According to a recent report in The Mercury News, oil speculators cannot be held responsible for high oil prices.
That’s because “bets on the future price of oil have no impact on the current price of oil if the current demand equals the current supply, meaning there is no net change in inventories of oil.”
So why does Washington continue to point the finger at oil ’speculators’ (who in reality are energy traders)? Because it’s politically expedient, says Resource Trader Alert editor Kevin Kerr. In fact, so-called speculators usually keep prices lower and the markets more efficient. More from Kevin below…
To say we are in a crisis is a massive understatement. It’s like saying there was a little fire on the Hindenburg. As oil prices…
Corn and soybeans fell nearly 3 percent yesterday, according to Reuters, “as risk premiums built into the market in case of crop failure peeled away as favorable weather in the grain belt boosted production prospects.”
Soybeans have been extremely volatile to say the least, says commodities expert Kevin Kerr in Whiskey and Gunpowder.
The problem, says Kevin, is that all the rosy crop reports won’t come to fruition once harvest time rolls around. He says they’re just a lot of wishful thinking…
This year has been a fantastic year for commodities, says Kevin Kerr. Twenty years ago it was all very different – the focus was entirely on stocks.
Kevin says this is a major paradigm shift – $140 oil, $1,000 gold, $8 corn are the new reality. He says there’s no going back.
Are the markets telling us a different story? US stocks rallied yesterday. The Dow saw its best two-day advance in six years. Crude oil prices have slipped below $131 a barrel. Gold prices are also off their week highs.
Crude oil prices are now in uncharted territory.
The black goo reached yet another all-time high today at over $141 a barrel.
Crude oil futures on the Nymex hit a new record of $141.71 in electronic trading, smashing yesterday’s all-time record price of $140.39 a barrel.
Crude oil prices spiked partly on comments made by OPEC’s president that crude oil prices go higher still on dollar weakness. Fears that Libya would cut supply also sent jitters through the market.
Editor’s Note: Corn prices have hit record highs today and commodities expert Kevin Kerr says they are only going higher. High fuel costs are pushing food prices higher. Kevin says the solution is to think locally. Food sources will need to be closer to the final consumers. The old way is simply not sustainable anymore…
Renewed Midwest rains has corn and soybean prices through the roof, reports AP. Corn prices and soybean prices hit all-time highs following more heavy rains in Midwestern states, which left replanted crops once again under water.
Most of us Americans are so accustomed to a world of plenty; we have a hard time imagining a world of scarcity — much less making investments based upon this idea. But the energy markets provide a very powerful example of what happens when resources become less plentiful.
Really, could the Demos & Repubs have nominated two more energy-illiterate candidates?
In the energy market Thursday, crude for July delivery headed for the moon, rocketing heavenward to close at a record $138.54/barrel, up $10.75. July reformulated gasoline shot 21.8 cents higher, to $3.548/gallon, marking a two-day gain of nearly 11%.
The world keeps turning and the resources get used up. It’s really quite simple.
