Oil rises $5 overnight, Rand weakens

Brent Crude is trading at over $128 now, and the Rand is now 7.80 to the $. At these prices we can anticipate 3 or 4 more months of successive fuel price hikes,with petrol prices breaching R12 a litre by the end of this year.

Every time we have a downward shift, the market forgets what pushed the market up,and when it's up, the market calls it a bubble, blames speculators, or the $ - in short the market looks everywhere except at real fundamental forces.

FT.com:
India, which imports 70 percent of its oil needs to feed its fast-growing economy, on Wednesday raised petrol prices by 11 percent and diesel by 9.4 percent based on pump prices in New Delhi.

Malaysia raised petrol prices 41 percent in a bid to curb its massive subsidies bill, following a similar move in Indonesia where fuel prices jumped by almost 30 percent.

High fuel prices have also hit global airlines. US carrier Continental Airlines said Thursday it will cut 3,000 jobs and pull 67 ageing planes in a massive retrenchment because of rising fuel prices. Two other big US carriers, American and United Airlines, have made similar moves.

More: Improving Mileage: "Hypermiling"

Peak Demand Pushes Oil to record $132.08

Oil hits record $132.08 as U.S. inventories plunge ahead of peak demand period

Why are prices spiking? Companies – such as airlines and logistics firms – that are particularly reliant on oil are buying long-term oil futures to hedge against future price rises. That's driving prices up, which is leading to more and more hedging.

Goldman analyst Arjun N. Murti wrote in a report earlier this month that ``the possibility of $150-$200 per barrel seems increasingly likely over the next six-24 months.''

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Oil hit a record $132.08 as U.S. crude and gasoline stocks fell ahead of the peak demand driving season, which officially kicks off next week.

In a weekly report issued by the Energy Information Administration, crude oil stocks plunged 5.4 million barrels last week against market calls for a modest rise. Gasoline stocks also fell sharply, by 800,000 barrels against predictions for a 200,000 barrel decline, ahead of the driving season.

In London, Brent crude for July delivery was up $3.36 at $131.20 per barrel having earlier hit a record $131.57.

NVDL: $200 oil by Christmas is now looking scarily obvious. The US market underestimated oil stocks by 400%. We are in deep crap. SABC TV news about 1 hour ago had oil prices at $126. Koo koo. Time for everyone every where to say good morning, open your eyes and welcome a brand new day in the Land of Finally Awake Now.

Oil exec: Prices driven by 'fundamentals'

Okay, you have my permission to start panicking: Oil prices pass $132 after government reports supply drop

Oil breaks $132 as U.S. supply unexpectedly drops
OPEC daily oil prices surpass $121 per barrel
Oil prices pass $132 after government reports supply drop
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices bolted to a new record above $132 a barrel Wednesday after the government reported that supplies of crude oil and gasoline fell unexpectedly last week. And crude's rise in the futures market again pressured consumers by pulling prices at the pump higher — a gallon of regular gas rose overnight to a new record above $3.80 a gallon.

With gas and oil prices setting new records on a daily basis, many analysts are beginning to wonder whether anything can stop runaway prices. There are technical signals in the futures market, including price differences between near-term and longer-term contracts, that crude may have already risen too high. But with demand for oil growing in the developing world, and little end in sight to supply problems in oil rich nations such as Nigeria, few analysts are willing to call an end to crude's rally.

In London, July Brent crude rose $3.37 to $131.21 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

NVDL: Is there anything left to say except CRASH, BOOM, BANG? Honestly, if the world's newspaper's tomorrow don't essentially have oil as a cover story, and headlines that amount to: WE'RE ALL FUCKED, then God help us. Because we need to stop right now and treat this like it is an emergency. That's exactly what it is. If you're an individual, get your money out of the stock markets, put it into resources like coal and oil (SASOL is a great buy). If you have debts, sort them out now. Start calling up your friends, because in a few weeks you might be out of a job, and the tank of petrol that's in your car now might be one of the last. Hoarding is probably going to start; not only with individuals, but whole countries. And the worst news is those poor mobs are going to grow in number here and everywhere, so work out ways to defend and fend for yourselves, and as I say, call up friends and family and let them know you might be in the neighborhood sometime soon.

Crude price approaches $130 (WATCH FORBE'S VIDEO)

Collecting a mix of crude oil and water last week from an old well in East Java, Indonesia. The miner sells the oil at up to $28 a drum.

(Sigit Pamungkas/Reuters)

NVDL: Watch Forbe's Video Explanation of record oil prices here.

LONDON: The price of oil hovered near a new high of $130 a barrel Tuesday as investors continued to ignore the prospect of more supply this summer and instead focused on bullish forecasts from investment banks and the influential oilman T. Boone Pickens.

Traders were encouraged to add to their positions after Pickens said he expected crude prices to reach $150 a barrel this year.

The investment banks Credit Suisse and Société Générale also raised their forecasts for average oil price for 2008.

Light sweet crude for June delivery rose to an all-time high of $129.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, the benchmark Brent crude futures contract was up $2.15 at $127.21.

Last week, the most active investment bank in the energy market, Goldman Sachs, helped to push the oil price above $127 a barrel when it predicted prices would average $141 in the second half of this year.

Olivier Jakob, of the trade advisory company Petromatrix, called it the fundamentals rule, "but the question is whether the futures market should reflect the fundamentals of the next few months or of the next few years."

NVDL: Fundamentally prices have to go up. Because the demand is growing faster than supply is growing, and supply growth is no longer a certainty. It's simple economics. And against a background of an ever increasing world human population, with each new individual an additional consumer of resources, an additional user, well, even more demand strain on a finite resource. Think about mould on a piece of bread. The mould can become seemingly infinite in number, mushrooming on the bread, but eventually the resource is consumed and all the mould can do is grow, feed on itself. Eventually very little is left.

Oil Soars Beyond $129 After OPEC Warns It Won't Increase Output
Credit Suisse raises 2008 oil price forecast to $120/bbl from $91/bbl
Oil close to $130 after buying surge

The cost of oil was today poised to break through the $130-a-barrel barrier for the first time after supply shortages and forecasts of high prices for years to come

NVDL: It would be interesting now to provide the encyclopedia of data where so many so-called experts predicted oil prices of what, $80 this year, or $65? They were so far wrong it's a joke. They've been dreaming. We all have. Unfortunately, we awaken on not a pleasant day, and with the news of terrible weather approaching. We are ill prepared.

A Perfect Storm in the Markets Commences

Brent Crude Oil $ 112.21 Up 0.56%
Rand - $ 8.0008 Up 0.96%
All Share 31616.500 Up 1.08%

Brazil’s oil discovery may yield $1,1-trillion
Oiling inflation spiral
Technology Smooths the Way for Home Wind-Power Turbines
Oil's record run past $114 raises questions of a peak

NVDL: Here's why we have a problem; this is the root of our delusion pschology:

Oil nearing $114 a barrel? No big deal on Wall Street

Finance Markets: There Will Be (Much More) Blood Soon and Later

Right now brent Crude is $104.38 - Up 1.95%
Rand - $8.0318 Up 0.22%

I predicted a few weeks ago that by June/July Crude will be about $105-120. That prediction remains in place.

More: Rand continues to tread water
Pain on petrol, rand may ease

Alert: Oil

Brent Crude Oil: US$91.46

NVDL: The 3 cents rise in the petrol pump price is likely to lull us into a false sense of complacency.
"Oh, the oil price is $91. And we're paying 3 cents more at the pump? No problem."

R/$ and Brent Crude Prices (LATEST)

Rand - US Dollar : 6.5300
Brent Crude Oil : US$ 88.41

Global climate points to interesting times for SA

NVDL: No doubt more interesting than we can conceive...