Oil Rises Above $98

Crude keeps going up, Blame the dollar the weather the Middle East the Iran USA nuke situation the Turkey Kurdish affair blame anything but the real cause is SPECULATION... crude oil rose above $98 a barrel for the first time in New York as the dollar tumbled to a record low against the euro and producers evacuated platforms in the North Sea, evading a storm forecast to bring waves as high as 36 feet.

BP Plc and ConocoPhillips evacuated oilrig workers, adding to supply concerns before a U.S. Energy Department report that show inventories fell for a third week.

One-hundred-dollar oil is the big benchmark and the factors ( speculation) driving crude towards that are in force.The supply disruption in the North Sea has given further impetus'' to prices.

Crude oil for December delivery rose to $98.17 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest since trading began in 1983. It was at $98.16 at 4:12 p.m. in Singapore.

Yesterday, oil rose $2.72, or 2.9 percent, to settle at $96.70 a barrel, a record close, Prices have passed the previous all-time inflation- adjusted record reached in 1981

The weakness in the dollar is giving investors the chance to buy oil at a cheaper price....Gold reached a 27-year high and silver rose to the most in 26 years as rising oil prices and a slumping dollar deepened concern that inflation will accelerate.

High oil prices are a concern for Europe as they drive up production prices and in some states this will be dramatic. This will also have a effect in the car industry as carmakers will increase sales of compact models or Smaller Cars .

For carmakers to grow out of the dependence on fossil fuels they need to achieve improved fuel efficiency, this and other energy sources should be the priority of any Goverment..not creating regional conflicts...