Crude Oil Breaches USD80/Barrel
Crude oil broke through the USD80/barrel mark this morning, albeit briefly, to set a new high of USD80.05/barrel for 2009.
The move seems to have more to do with outside influences than supply and demand fundamentals however.
Spec money certainly isn't turned on by US (or UK/Eurozone) interest rates and appears to be looking for better returns from commodities and equities as a bit of consumer confidence returns.
Good results for Q3 from Apple last night lent a bit of weight to ideas that a global economic recovery is underway.
With an estimated 125 million barrels of crude oil/other fuels still sloshing around on the high seas in floating storage waiting for a home, for some recovery can't come soon enough.
A weak dollar is also behind some of the positive tone behind crude, but most of the upside appears to be speculatively-led in anticipation of a spike in demand before one even occurs.
There is some talk that a concerted move above USD80/barrel will trigger further computer-driven buying, pushing prices still higher. A move to USD90/barrel would be interesting, as that marks the halfway point between the 2008 (was it really ONLY last year?) all-time high of $147/barrel and the more recent low of $34/barrel.
The move seems to have more to do with outside influences than supply and demand fundamentals however.
Spec money certainly isn't turned on by US (or UK/Eurozone) interest rates and appears to be looking for better returns from commodities and equities as a bit of consumer confidence returns.
Good results for Q3 from Apple last night lent a bit of weight to ideas that a global economic recovery is underway.
With an estimated 125 million barrels of crude oil/other fuels still sloshing around on the high seas in floating storage waiting for a home, for some recovery can't come soon enough.
A weak dollar is also behind some of the positive tone behind crude, but most of the upside appears to be speculatively-led in anticipation of a spike in demand before one even occurs.
There is some talk that a concerted move above USD80/barrel will trigger further computer-driven buying, pushing prices still higher. A move to USD90/barrel would be interesting, as that marks the halfway point between the 2008 (was it really ONLY last year?) all-time high of $147/barrel and the more recent low of $34/barrel.
