Oil Rises

The world economy keeps facing this situation on a regular basis most times caused by speculation and profit taking by all those involved in the energy sector, governments,oil companies, crude exporters and traders and also the fact that the US supplies unexpectedly dropped causing once more crude oil to increase above $111 a barrel in New York and gasoline surged to a record...
Crude oil inventories fell 3.15 million barrels to 316 million last week, metals futures also rose as the dollar fell against the euro, and gasoline pump prices reached a record average $3.343 a gallon in the US whille some countries in Europe have the same pump prices per litre !!! as is the case in Portugal were
they practice one of the most expensive pump prices in the world...
Speculation is once more trying to accelerate prices towards $115, if no action is taken then we will see a deep world recession moving in that will affect crude producers and consumers alike.
Crude oil for May delivery rose to $110.99 a barrel at 11:54 a.m. on 09-04-2008, the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures reached $111.43, the highest since March 17, when prices touched a record $111.80 a barrel.
Speculation is the main reason driving up oil prices,OPEC so far doesn't have anything on the agenda for the informal meeting in Rome, they are also using speculation to profit more and more.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will hold its next formal policy-setting conference in September. Many OPEC ministers will hold informal discussions during a conference in Rome on April 20-22. The group's 13 members produce more than 40 percent of the world's oil.
OPEC has lost control of the oil market to institutional investors who are looking for a sanctuary from the weak dollar and slowing economy, i believe the bubble will break and prices are going to fall to the $85 area before the winter heating season.
Oil's 80 percent gain during the past year is the second biggest among 19 commodities on the Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index, trailing only wheat, which doubled. Rising global demand for raw materials and a weakening dollar have led to record prices this year for raw materials including corn, rice, gold and platinum. Brent crude for May settlement rose to $108.23 a barrel on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. Futures reached a record $108.77 a barrel in intraday trading.