YEAR 2008

As the year 2008 begins there is no positive news regarding the crude price ...SPECULATION continues to dominate events as crude oil rose above $98 a barrel in New York on speculation U.S. stockpiles fell for a seventh week...why should this news affect crude prices...every week U.S. stockpiles decline .. even when they dont decline prices keep going up.
According to our WorldWatch office a U.S. government report tomorrow will show a drop in crude supplies last week, from their lowest in three years !!!!
Gold futures for February delivery rose $11.60, or 1.4 percent, to $849.60 an ounce at 9:01 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil also gained after militant attacks in Nigeria, Africa's biggest crude producer, increased concern that violence will deepen production cuts. Violence has already cut production by about 500,000 barrels a day. There have always been conflicts in Nigeria, almost every African Nation has conflicts...so why should the price of crude suffer !!! just because Nigeria produces crude !!! anyway who controls the local crude market...U.S companies !!!

What the world needs is efficient energy source other than crude... there are many options but more investment is needed.

Crude oil for February delivery climbed to $98.29 a barrel in after-hours trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract traded at $97.82 at 1:42 p.m. London time.

Last year, prices surged $34.93 a barrel, or 57 percent, the biggest annual percentage increase since 2002. New York futures reached a record $99.29 on Nov. 21 as a weaker dollar made crude cheaper in other currencies.

Brent crude for February settlement rose to $96.40 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange. It traded at $96.06 at 1:18 p.m. London time.

The London benchmark rose 54 percent last year, the most since 1999, when prices more than doubled.

Oil advanced 2.9 percent in New York last week after the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto sparked concerns of instability in the nuclear-armed nation.
Also having a effect on crude prices is Nigerian militants killed 12 people in the southern oil city of Port Harcourt in attacks on two police stations and a hotel, the state-run News Agency of Nigeria said yesterday, citing Felix Ogbaudu, the regional police chief, reducingNigeria's output by 20 percent since the start of 2006.
Gold rose, extending a seven-year rally to the highest price since 1980, as a weakening dollar and higher energy costs boosted demand for a hedge against inflation. Silver also gained.V

So its up to the consumer to turn this situation in a downward trend... because we have noticed that crude is making a run for a $100, the dollar is headed lower, and geopolitical tensions are building. It's very possible gold can get to $1,000 this year.!!!