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Oil Up Again As Low Dollar Spurs Buying

NEW YORK -- Crude oil prices surged further into record terrain Thursday, breaching $83 a barrel as the weak dollar and some worrisome weather in the Gulf of Mexico spurred buying, according to the Associated Press.

Gasoline futures jumped as well.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 4:42 PM to Crude oil market , Gas prices | Permalink | Comments 0

Backseat Driver: No More Slouching Toward Alternative Fuels

I read a quote the other day that went something along the lines of "When the facts change, I change my opinion."

Well, the facts about global warming have been changing for some time and it seems to me the message is finally getting through. I mean, when the senior advisor on the environment to this petro-driven administration concurs that CO2 emissions are changing the climate, you know opinions are changing.

And I expect a sea change next year in interest in cars and trucks powered by alternative fuels, mainly clean diesel from Europe and gas/diesel-electric hybrids from Asia and Detroit.

Folks, it's going to happen very fast indeed. Remember when we all smoked and no party or bar was complete without the fug of cigarette smoke. No more. Gone. Heck, I went to university in France in the late 1960s and developed a taste for the deliciously pungent Gauloise cigarettes. There were practically national brands and now they are not even made in France any more!

Plus ca change, plus ca change.

And the word at the current auto show in Frankfurt - one of Europe's biggest - is alternative fuels. This on the cusp of the entrance of the big clean diesels from Germany into the North American market (starting next year).

I have enormous respect for the intelligence and common sense of the average Joe, and the facts of global warming are getting through to all of us. What was once trendy is now becoming a fact of life and most of us now want to do our bit to save ourselves from ourselves.

Buying cars that emit less CO2 makes more than good sense: increasingly, there is little alternative that makes any sense.

- Peter C. T. Elsworth

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:39 AM to Alternative fuels , Environment , commentary | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil hovers around $82

LONDON - Oil hovered around $82 a barrel on Thursday as sinking U.S. crude inventories and the threat of a storm gathering near Florida increased worries of a winter supply crunch in the world's top consumers, according to Reuters News Agency.

Oil has traded above $80 for the past week but OPEC officials and oil analysts say the lofty price is unsustainable.

U.S. light crude edged up 35 cents to $82.27 a barrel by 9:00 a.m., after a record-high of $82.51 on Wednesday, the sixth straight session to hit a record. London Brent crude fell 33 cents to $78.14.

Oil has risen by a third this year, driven by worries of fuel shortages during the Northern Hemisphere winter, supply risks in countries ranging from Mexico to Iran and flows of money into oil and out of poorly performing equity markets.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:28 AM to Crude oil market | Permalink | Comments 0