Oil Resuming Trend Toward $100 a Barrel

The saga continues while the world watches and waits as crude oil rose in New York, reversing yesterday's decline from a record and resuming a trend toward $100 a barrel.

Oil producers, including the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, are powerless to stop prices from reaching $100 as few countries can produce more crude, Oman's energy minister said yesterday. Prices soared 17 percent the past month as U.S. stockpiles fell, the dollar weakened and Iran threatened to curb supplies in a standoff over nuclear research.

Brent crude oil for December settlement yesterday declined 91 cents, or 1 percent, to $89.72 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Brent reached $91.71 a barrel earlier in the day, the highest since trading began in 1988.

According to our WorldWatch group all oil-producing countries are at maximum output. Maybe Saudi could produce more, but the lack of spare capacity is a major factor …