U.S. crude sets record high of $125.98 a barrel

[UpInArms]

Source: Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures rose to a fresh record high of $125.98 a barrel on Friday.

They were trading $2.11 higher at $125.80 by 7:09 a.m. EDT.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNews/idUSL0984833120080509

---

:faint:

[MikeNearMcChord]

1. Oh don't worry, Shrubous Boobious Maximus says

he going to Saudi Arabia again to jawbone them again to raise output. Or he is going to...going to...going to...ah...ah..ah, help me here folks:+

[AlabamaBrightBlueDot]

2. It's just an economic slowdown.... right?

[Zachstar]

3. The next president is going to be sworn in during a depression.

There is only a small bit left before the trucking industry collapses.

[barnel]

15. as sensational as that sounds, you may be right

people who think the economy can run at these oil levels without severe consequences are in denial

[Warren Stupidity]

4. Spectacular!

Everyone at the pump is cursing. Not to worry we will just stare down them a-rabs.

[msongs]

5. oil companies do NOT have to sell at that high price if they choose not to nt

[Winterblues]

11. But how would they make Net Profits of OVER One Hundred Million a DAY?

And that is just Exxon. If you add them all together they are putting in their pockets well OVER Three Hundred Million dollars a Friggin' DAY...And I am talking after ALL Expenses have been met. Totally In the Pocket Money I wonder where gas prices would be if Exxon only made One Million a DAY in NET PROFIT ?

[paparush]

23. Right..what's a poor, honest, hard working BILLIONAIRE CEO to do ?

Ya mean, NOT buy that 4th mansion? Oh the Huge Manatee!

[GliderGuider]

24. If Exxon only made One Million a DAY in NET PROFIT

Actually, if all oil companies selling gas in the USA made zero profit, gas prices would be about ten cents a gallon less.

[Winterblues]

25. I doubt that very much

I doubt you can back it up with any stats either.. Venezuela lowered fuel prices on home heating oil by more than fifty cents a gallon for US residents and they still had a good profit..

[GliderGuider]

26. Venezuela has nationalized their oil supply.

Venezuela is also a net oil exporter, so they don't buy oil on the international market. That means they can arbitrarily set a lower internal price for their oil. That in turn allows them to undercut the international market price even for product they export. If the political value they gain from that gesture exceeds the financial loss they took from not selling at the market price, they will do it, as Chavez did.

There's no big mystery to it. Nationalizing your oil allows you to decouple it from the export market prices if you wish.

[alllyingwhores]

28. okay...do you have a link on that?...

...and if there's any truth to that then why do oil industry leaders refuse to testify under oath when they're in brought in front of Congress to answer questions about record profits?

[alllyingwhores]

30. What/who do think determines the price of crude?

June 2006 US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations report:

“The Role of Market Speculation in rising oil and gas prices,” noted, “… there is substantial evidence supporting the conclusion that the large amount of speculation in the current market has significantly increased prices.”

“Until recently, US energy futures were traded exclusively on regulated exchanges within the United States , like the NYMEX, which are subject to extensive oversight by the CFTC, including ongoing monitoring to detect and prevent price manipulation or fraud. In recent years, however, there has been a tremendous growth in the trading of contracts that look and are structured just like futures contracts, but which are traded on unregulated OTC electronic markets. Because of their similarity to futures contracts they are often called “futures look-alikes.”

The only practical difference between futures look-alike contracts and futures contracts is that the look-alikes are traded in unregulated markets whereas futures are traded on regulated exchanges. The trading of energy commodities by large firms on OTC electronic exchanges was exempted from CFTC oversight by a provision inserted at the behest of Enron and other large energy traders into the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 in the waning hours of the 106th Congress.

The impact on market oversight has been substantial. NYMEX traders, for example, are required to keep records of all trades and report large trades to the CFTC. These Large Trader Reports, together with daily trading data providing price and volume information, are the CFTC's primary tools to gauge the extent of speculation in the markets and to detect, prevent, and prosecute price manipulation. CFTC Chairman Reuben Jeff rey recently stated: “The Commission's Large Trader information system is one of the cornerstones of our surveillance program and enables detection of concentrated and coordinated positions that might be used by one or more traders to attempt manipulation.”

In contrast to trades conducted on the NYMEX, traders on unregulated OTC electronic exchanges are not required to keep records or file Large Trader Reports with the CFTC, and these trades are exempt from routine CFTC oversight. In contrast to trades conducted on regulated futures exchanges, there is no limit on the number of contracts a speculator may hold on an unregulated OTC electronic exchange, no monitoring of trading by the exchange itself, and no reporting of the amount of outstanding contracts (“open interest”) at the end of each day.”

[RaleighNCDUer]

6. And the headlines all say "$125 a barrel", not

"2 cents short of $126 a barrel".

[leftyladyfrommo]

7. Our prices jumped 10 cents overnite. Highest ever - 3.57

here in KC.

[xioaping]

27. Paid $4.16 but that is just the start

I ony use one gallon a week so the price is not so bad for my transportation but it is really hurting local business and cost of everything is going up so I feel that.

California have special fuel blend it requires and gas tax here is 75 cents per gallon so I think that is why our price much higher than you $3.57 like California have and you could have same price as us.

[Haole Girl]

8. I predicted this before the re-election of *

I hope the Repugs I predicted it to, who still voted for him,

are pleased with themselves.

:sarcasm:

[maddezmom]

9. Gas jumps above $3.67, oil passes $126 on Venezuela concerns

Gas jumps above $3.67, oil passes $126 on Venezuela concerns By JOHN WILEN, AP Business Writer
3 minutes ago



NEW YORK - Oil rose above $126 a barrel for the first time Friday, bringing its advance this week to nearly $10, as investors questioned whether a possible confrontation between the U.S. and Venezuela could cut exports from the OPEC member. Gas prices, meanwhile, rose above an average $3.67 a gallon at the pump, following oil's recent path higher.


On Friday, The Wall Street Journal published a report that suggested closer ties between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and rebels attempting to overthrow Colombia's government. Chavez has been linked to Colombian rebels previously, but the paper reported it had reviewed computer files indicating concrete offers by Venezuela's leader to arm guerillas. That appears to heighten the chances that the U.S. could impose sanctions on one of its biggest oil suppliers.

"If we put on sanctions, I'm sure Chavez would threaten to cut off our oil supply," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. "Obviously that would have a major impact on oil prices."

Light, sweet crude for June delivery vaulted to a new record of $126.20 in morning trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange before retreating to trade up $1.09 at $124.78 a barrel.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080509/ap_on_bi_ge/oil_prices;_ylt=AoNaia7wj8eEfybdYD6oU1es0NUE

[barnel]

13. World Cop is putting itself in jail

but the cop's too stupid to understand that

[JoDog]

16. Serious question

Why are we concerned about whether Venezuela and Colombian are fighting? As long as trade continues and the oil flows, what business is it of ours?

[barnel]

10. if this isnt hyperinflation, what is?

there seems to just be mass denial over the seriousness of this

our economy can not withsatnd oil at these prices, and rising

[barnel]

12. stimulus went straight to the gas pump

and it is cause and effect

printing money to chase the cost of living, is like a cat running faster to catch his own tail (i've actually seen this happen, amazing to watch)

the faster the cat runs, the faster the tail moves, but the cat's too dumb to get that

[Gamey]

14. Mission Accomplished!

[eringer]

17. That is Just Great! Bush's legacy--Hooverville 2008

You can bet that Sean Hannity (the "Grate" American) will make damn sure that these aren't his kids:

[KansDem]

18. And oil was $27.69/bbl when Bush took office

$100 in 7 years! F**K YOU, George "Jawbone" Bush!!!

[barnel]

19. this guy really is a disaster

doesnt get worse

at least he's winning the war on American workers and families, gotta give him that

[SammyWinstonJack]

20. The Real "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED"! When georgee said that oil prices were

ridiculous under the Clinton Admin., he really meant that they were ridiculously low. He's fixed that little problem and made his oily bidness pardners rich beyond their wildest dreams.

[jody]

21. $125, 125, 125 bid -- do I hear $150?

[GliderGuider]

22. It's got Dick-all to do with Bush.

World crude oil production has been stagnant for 3 years (it stopped growing in early 2005). Meanwhile demand has continued to grow by several percent a year. What does Economics 101 tell you to expect in that situation?

I know it's fashionable and comforting to Bash the Bush, but this goes far, far beyond anything * can control. This is what Peak Oil looks like, folks.

[Fumesucker]

29. We have an oilman as president

Another oilman as vice president..

They invaded and occupied the second largest reserves of sweet crude in the world based entirely on lies..

And you wish to tell us that has *nothing* to do with the price of oil?

Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining.

[GliderGuider]

33. This isn't just an American problem

It's a global problem. The USA uses less than a quarter of the world's oil. Global oil production has been flat for 3 years, while demand has been climbing. Do you think Bush has been telling Saudi Arabia and Russia to keep their oil in the ground? Yes, he and Dick are desperately concerned with the world's oil situation, but that's because they know we've hit Peak Oil.

Here's why I think you're in Iraq: The Saudi Peak - a Hypothesis about the Iraq War

Sorry, it's raining.

[Joanne98]

31. This is the time to buy an option for a strike price of 150$

[Gin]

32. The actual target the stock market has been throwing out is....$200.00 a barrel.

Makers of those plastic numbers for stations say they cannot keep the 4's in stock and have big orders for 5's.

We are being gamed!

[roamer65]

34. I want it at $200/bbl

$126 is still way too low for such a finite resource.

[GliderGuider]

35. The price of oil has been rising by 27% a year since 1998

from $12 at the end of 1998 to $125 per barrel at the end of Q1 2008 -- that's about 27.5% a year, for a doubling of the price every three years.

If a global depression doesn't get in the way, we'll see $250/bbl oil in 2011, $500/bbl in 2014, and $1000.bbl in 2017.

Isn't Peak oil fun?

[4dsc]

36. What peak oil??

The sheeple will come up with every excuse known to man to avoid reaching the conclusion that world oil production is peaking.. They don't want to face the truth about the ramifications that peaking oil production will have their future and the future of their children..

Isn't peak oil fun??