I HAD to respond to this one!
First, let's buttUME that OPEC is being "open" about their pumping capacities (which I never believed they are), Saudi Arabia has a 500,000 barrel per day surplus. This alone will be sucked up by China and India (though I somehow believe China is getting a LOT of its oil from Russia).
That being said, there are two reasons why oil is being driven through the roof: first, someone here was talking about speculators - good observation! The speculation market is going hog-wild over what is going to happen. Have you ever watch the New York Mercantile Exchange. These are the same loonies who throw themselves off Wall Street balconies when their stock portfolios fall 30%. GET A LIFE, people!
Bushamerica $3 gas is here NOW 4729If you raise CAFE enough, SUV's will become pointless. People who really need to haul stuff will fork over the additional money for one, and everybody else will either buy a compact truck...
The speculators ARE causing a problem in that they are pitching oil futures to hedge-fund managers. That's right everyone. Those nasty little "hedge funds," in which people dump scads of cash into in order to turn double-digit returns, are making a comeback in the oil market. Since futures are not subject to the same "insider trading" laws that stock markets are (they have their own set of rules, just not widely enforced), the hedge fund managers are making a killing right now. The whisper of "shortage" throws these lunatic megalomaniacs in a panic.
Now, I'm not an opponent of people making profit from risk, but this going beyond just taking risk: this has shades of market-rigging.....
God,
