11 replies to this topic

[MTSkiBum]

NEW YORK – The price of oil is headed for its biggest monthly decline since December 2008.

Benchmark U.S. crude has dropped nearly 16% so far in May. There are growing expectations that the world won't use as much oil this year as previously expected. On Wednesday, the futures contract fell $2.99, or 3.3%, to $87.78 as global stock markets also sank.

Europe's financial crisis is the most immediate concern, but there have been plenty of signs of weaker demand.

Analysts point to weak U.S. jobs numbers and a slowdown in China's manufacturing sector. The U.S. and China are the biggest oil consumers in the world.

Earlier this year, energy economists mostly agreed that world oil demand would hit a new record in 2012, probably around 89 million barrels per day. But with demand not growing in China and declining in the U.S., those expectations are starting to change.

"I wouldn't be surprised if demand was lower this year," said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/markets/story/2012-05-30/oil-prices-drop/55287262/1


When record demand was predicted earlier this year oil prices rose, now that the demand for oil is dropping the price is dropping as well. The price of oil has nothing to do with speculators.




Supply and demand.

[Recliner Pilot]

$4 gas has a tendency to force people to drive less.

[NorthernVike]

$4 gas has a tendency to force people to drive less.

That and a shitty economy.

[hoytdwow]

Gas has come down almost 50 cents here. From $3.80-something to the $3.40s

[DanXIII]

The price of oil has nothing to do with speculators.

This is demonstrably false. I don't know why you keep posting it.

[MTSkiBum]

This is demonstrably false. I don't know why you keep posting it.

The oil speculators losing money the past couple months was all part of their master plan

[Little Rusty]

The price is tweaked & fake like pretty much everything else in the this Country.

[DanXIII]

The oil speculators losing money the past couple months was all part of their master plan

And how much did they bank when prices were going up in some places 10 cents per gallon per day?

I never said it was solely speculation that caused the price spike. Obviously there are (almost always) other factors at play, including supply and demand. But if you don't think speculation plays a role you're just plain wrong.

As there was no appreciable change in either supply or demand preceeding and during the most recent uptick it's pretty safe to conclude that "supply & demand" weren't the sole contributing factors.

[MTSkiBum]

And how much did they bank when prices were going up in some places 10 cents per gallon per day?

I never said it was solely speculation that caused the price spike. Obviously there are (almost always) other factors at play, including supply and demand. But if you don't think speculation plays a role you're just plain wrong.

As there was no appreciable change in either supply or demand preceeding and during the most recent uptick it's pretty safe to conclude that "supply & demand" weren't the sole contributing factors.

There were questions about supply because Iran was threatening military action in a waterway that is used to transport a decent amount of the worlds oil.

Also demand has been increasing steadily

http://omrpublic.iea.org/DashBoard/demand.gif

[DankNuggs]

They both play a part. Speculators grow the snowball faster, I imagine the volume of them grow as the market gets hotter, like the housing industry when everyone and their brother was flipping houses. As it cools off the overgrowth of those types scatter

[LOD01]

They both play a part. Speculators grow the snowball faster, I imagine the volume of them grow as the market gets hotter, like the housing industry when everyone and their brother was flipping houses. As it cools off the overgrowth of those types scatter

Soemone else actually understands this. This fact is why we won't be going anywhere economically for a very long time if ever. What the economy looks like now is the way it is going to look like years from now. At the moment that employment picks up and the market starts going up, the speculators latch onto oil because it's an easy winner. They assist supply/demand in driving the oil prices up to the point where Joe Consumer shuts it down. That is around $4/ gallon. The economy cools, last one out the Oil trading room is left holding the bag waiting for the next run. A vicious cycle with no current fix that the politicians are willing to fix as they are part of the problem. Exclude oil from being a traded commodity and the problem is solved.

[DanXIII]

There were questions about supply because Iran was threatening military action in a waterway that is used to transport a decent amount of the worlds oil.

Also demand has been increasing steadily

http://omrpublic.iea.org/DashBoard/demand.gif

There were indeed questions about supply. There were no appreciable supply disruptions, though. Speculators jumped on the oil and gas commodities bandwagon because of the Iran BS.

Again, I am not saying that supply and demand do not factor into the price. I'm saying that speculation also plays a part, sometimes a huge part. To deny this is just silly.