Oil Above $113 !!!!

WorldWatch has verified that the U.S. wants to see the weakening of the dollar continue, crude exporters want to see the price per barril above $100, oil companies such as Exxon, BP,Shell, Repsol, Galp and others want higher profits, governments want more and more taxes, and of course we cannot forget the traders who use SPECULATION as the bargain chip, so in the middle of this chaos is the everyday consumer...not even the third biggest ever crude discovery had a positive downward trend on prices... as crude oil rose to a record on speculation the dollar will extend declines and China will report economic growth of more than 10 percent in the first quarter. Crude oil rose to a record above $113 a barrel in New York on supply disruptions in Nigeria and Mexico and rising fuel demand in China.

Oil climbed to $113.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest since futures began trading in 1983. Mexico, the U.S.'s third-largest crude supplier, shut its fourth export terminal yesterday, while Eni SpA halted output in Nigeria. China said today diesel imports surged 49 percent in March.

Now the excuss used by traders for these prices is that the emerging economies will overcompensate for any possible demand slump in OECD countries...
Crude oil for May traded at $113.40 a barrel, as London prices gained 78 percent in a year and yesterday rose $1.62 to settle at $111.76, the highest close.
Record oil prices are crimping profits at airlines, boosting food costs and contributing to rising inflation across the globe.

Eni's Nigerian venture halted production at some oil wells following explosions on April 12 near the Beniboye area in Delta state, the company said yesterday. The shutdown, blamed on ``sabotage,'' has cost Eni about 5,000 barrels a day in output, the Rome-based company said in a statement posted on its Web site.
Petroleos Mexicanos, the third-largest supplier of crude to the U.S., shut its crude oil export terminal on the Pacific coast yesterday, the fourth terminal to close because of bad weather since April 13.
The terminal at the port of Salina Cruz closed today, Mexico's Merchant Marine reported in a weather bulletin posted on its Web site. The three Gulf of Mexico terminals at the ports of Pajaritos, Dos Bocas and Cayo Arcas remain shut.

Brent crude for May settlement rose as much as $2.01, to $111.85 a barrel, an all-time intraday high, on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. It traded at $111.69 at 1:11 p.m. local time. The contract yesterday closed at a record $109.84.
Oil has risen 39 percent and the dollar has dropped 12 percent against the euro since the Federal Reserve began lowering interest rates Sept. 18. The euro traded at $1.5836 versus the dollar as of 1:13 p.m. in London from $1.5832 late in New York yesterday.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries today said a decline in global demand for oil during the second quarter could be more ``pronounced,'' should the U.S. economy continue its slide into recession.
In its monthly report, OPEC left its forecast for 2008 oil demand steady at 86.97 million barrels a day, a 1.2 million barrel- a-day gain over 2007.
Quite clear this attitude by OPEC is speculative as always...