Oil prices settle at record high

Society Business and Career
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Crude ends Nymex trading session at $59.84 a barrel
After climbing as high as $60 a barrel for the second straight day, light, sweet crude for August settled at $59.84, an increase of 42 cents on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was a record close on Nymex, where oil futures have been traded since 1983.
On London’s International Petroleum Exchange, Brent crude futures for August delivery rose 40 cents to settle at $58.40 a barrel.

It was not the first time the August crude contract hit the $60 a barrel level — that happened back on April 4, when prices hit $60.02.
As global demand stays strong, and populous countries such as China and India increase their consumption of energy, there are fears the producers will not be able to meet escalating demand as the second half of 2005 kicks in.

About the risks and solutions:
Oil ‘peak’ not seen coming any time soon
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8302921/

Pump prices up another 3 cents a gallon
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8194960/

OPEC members pledge to pump more oil, can they deliver it too?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8225739/

Can Saudi Arabia keep its oil promises?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8217587

Have higher gas prices changed your habits?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7319618/

Promises an progress:
Saudis to build new export refinery
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7396975/

OPEC vows to keep market supplied
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7873916/

U.S. heating oil prices top gasoline
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8076598/

ChevronTexaco aid fueled Nigerian strife
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7736554/

Source:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5612507/

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Re: Oil prices settle at record high

thanks for putting in the effort to present information in this thread. I am sure other people might be interested but it doesnt really affect me. I get free gas. God Bless.

  • Gamma
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Re: Oil prices settle at record high

Umer.ashraf-Thanx for sharing infos

here is a sum up of what I was taught in “oil” classes, let’s say it simply:
-we are consuming oil faster (zillion times faster!) than it is replaced naturally
-each person om Earth consumes more oil year after year
-human population allways grow
-the physical result is the inability for the oil supply the keep up pace with oil consumption growth (until there is no more oil available)
-the economical result is rising oil prices which enable oil companies to yield more expensive crude oils, that in turn boost reseve amounts but not enough to reach demand growth, so prices keep on rising…:frowning:
Now smile when you ‘feed’ your car:)

Gamma beta-you are so young:o …I don’t use gas as I got no car (i am fit enough to walk:D , lol) BUT all our modern world economy and technology is based on high energy consumption and oil/gas is the more mobile/reliable source for it today (I admit nuclear power is an efficient energy provider too, as I live the country in the world who rely the most on it but we (french) are an exception).
Isn’t your computer light on with power and made of plastic…where does all that come from?

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Re: Oil prices settle at record high

Oil touched a high of $ 60.95 last night.

Gamma high oil prices effect every aspect of your life not just the gas you put in your car.

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Re: Oil prices settle at record high

that’s what I meant by
BUT all our modern world economy and technology is based on high energy consumption and oil/gas is the more mobile/reliable source for it today

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Re: Oil prices settle at record high

^ I was just reinforcing your view. :)

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Re: Oil prices settle at record high

thanx for that, anyway I thought the end of my 1st post wasn't clear

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Re: Oil prices settle at record high

What a wild ride. Any one made any money today?

[thumb=H]london_oilprices23102_5653294.JPG[/thumb]

*LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices swung wildly Thursday after an apparent series of terror attacks on London's public transport system. *

U.S. light crude for August delivery sank as low as $57.20 in electronic trading as it became clear the blasts were deliberate, but later recovered most of that ground to trade at $60.60 a barrel, down 68 cents from Wednesday's record close.

August Brent crude in London fell to a low of $55.55 before recovering to $59.23 a barrel, down 61 cents on the day.

Dealers said prices sank initially as traders bet that an economic slowdown might result from the attacks, similar to what happened after the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.

"The market is interpreting this as a re-acceleration in al- Qaeda activity which could lead to global economic slowdown," said Deborah White of SG Securities.

But prices recovered on worries about how an approaching hurricane would affect oil wells and refineries in the Gulf of Mexico.

Storms in the Gulf have compounded anxieties about the ability of stretched global crude production and refinery operations to meet demand.

Just before word first emerged of the attacks, crude set a new record trading high of $62.10 as dealers weighed the impact of Hurricane Dennis, which was upgraded Wednesday to become the season's first Atlantic hurricane as it moved through the central Caribbean.

Its course put it on track for the oil and natural gas fields off the Gulf Coast on Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said.

Tropical storm Cindy this week forced energy companies to shut in some production and some refinery units in the area to close.

The unusually early appearance of four named storms has traders worried about an active Atlantic hurricane season.

Last September's hurricane Ivan knocked out 45 million barrels a day of Gulf output over several months and helped oil prices climb past $50 a barrel for the first time

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Re: Oil prices settle at record high

Im loving the high oil price.
My stocks are burning up. Made a tight bundle today alone

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Re: Oil prices settle at record high

i am more than interested to know your exit strategy from oil sector.. that is if you are willing to share.. part of my portfolio is oil transportation companies and is up 56% in an year from my entry point.. just dont know when is it time to quit! alternate opinions always fascinate me.. whats your take?

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Re: Oil prices settle at record high

I am already out, I was up 122%. I may be back again, but I want to see a lot of things happening before I do that. I dont think oil companies have any major uplift left, oil services may have some more profit but like I said I am a bit vary untill there is a 6-7 dollar dip.

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Re: Oil prices settle at record high

Interesting point
I work in the energy sector myself (am an engineer), my honest assessment is that the long term outlook for oil and gas sector is very positive. Numerous reports state that Saudi production will level of and decrease in the not too distant future.
II’m sure you’ve heard of the Peak Oil hypothesis and such.
So in short, if anything I’ll be buying more. Butof course consider everything carefully. Not all companies involved in the energy sector will enjoy the higher prices we can expect in the future. Individual oil company assetts and strategies along with stock price trends should be analyzed before making a decision to buy more.

kyun dil main ummeedoN ki bastiyan rakh gaya?
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Re: Oil prices settle at record high

Agree with you on the oil companies not having much of an uplift left cause the price per stock for most of them reflects all the ‘good’ hype.. the only change might come on bad news.. still 6-7 dollars dip in my opinion would still not be coming very soon on the other hand oil services like transportation might still have some juice left in them. Thanks for your input.

ur addicted to gupshup when...
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Re: Oil prices settle at record high

I am not too sure about the oil production being a problem where as I think the refining the oil might be with the limited refining units. On the other hand I agree with the individual companies could have different results living through this oil hype based on their unique circumstances. This might not also be a bad time to look into ‘alternate energy’ companies. Appreciate your input.. :slight_smile:

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Re: Oil prices settle at record high

I dont believe there is any feasible 'alternate energy' source that has been developed to this date. It will be interesting to see what direction that is taken in. For example hydrogen has long been touted as a replacement fuel. Interestingly enough the comman form of production for fuel hydrogen is typically natural gas which defeats the purpose of not using oil anyhow.

Interest...
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Re: Oil prices settle at record high

Could be because of multi billion dollars oil based infrastructure in developed countries where this new alternate energy source will come from in the future? just a quick google on alternate energy sources brings you to http://www.altenergystocks.com/stocks.html .. definitely worth looking if you are a long term (atleast in my opinion).. :slight_smile:

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Re: Oil prices settle at record high

Yankee, the only way to make money in alternate energy stocks is if you are lucky. There is no feasable alternate source and there will be none for at least another 30/40 years. I have been watching fuel cell stocks for the last five years and they have only come down.

there are other sectors that show some good upside, why invest in alternate energy? If you likee taking risks then check out some biotech stocks. Chances of hitting a winner in biotech are greater than alternate energy.

Elahi, who do you work for?

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Re: Oil prices settle at record high

biotech is a daytraders domain i feel.. look at what happened to ELN.. only way to hit big there is to bet on small companies which obviously have very volatile stock swings.. i am invested a little bit in sgp which by the way is a good buy under 20 right now with a target of 25-30 in 6 - 12 months.. fingers crossed.. :-)

College :-S
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Re: Oil prices settle at record high

Im at Dow Chemicals currently. Have worked with consulting compaines in the past at places like Shell Oil and Aramco.
I have to agree with you on alternate energy. I recall Global Thermoelectric and Ballard Power Systems here in Canada were long touted as the next big thing and nothing happened.
Do you have any specific Biotech Companies in mind?

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Re: Oil prices settle at record high

To counter that, Saudis are increasing their rig activity nearly by 20%. The same is happening in other countries as well. The biggest hurdle to that is that it is so busy in the oil industry at the moment that if an oil company asks for a rig today, it will only be able to get the rig to drill its well after one year.

The increase in activity only means that the oil services companies will be having blast of a time and they will be able to surpass the earning estimates for a long time to come. However, at the moment the stock price of the oil service companies is tied too much to the price of oil itself instead of their own performance. But definitely they are the best middle term investments.