Oil prices rise toward $75 a barrel

[sabra]

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/business/14487682.htm

Oil prices rise toward $75 a barrel

VIENNA, Austria - Oil prices tested levels near $75 a barrel Wednesday amid nagging concern that Iran, a key exporter, could cut supplies because of international pressure to modify its nuclear program.

Also contributing to the upward trend were an expected decline in gasoline stocks when U.S. weekly energy data is released later Wednesday, bullish buying by investors, a refinery outage in Italy and supply disruptions in Africa.

Unrest in Nigeria and the approach of the summer driving season are likely to exert additional upward pressure on prices.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose 14 cents to $74.75 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe, after touching $74.99 earlier in the day. The intraday peak of $75.35 was reached briefly on April 21.

[AlamoDemoc]

1. Bolivia just made the list: Nigeria, Sudan, and Iran included...n/t

[MadHound]

2. Prepare if you can people,

Like I've been predicting for six months, we're going to hit $5.00/gallon before it's all over this summer. Might even be worse, if not this year then next year.

[corporate_mike]

3. Time for Chavez to make an absurd comment to drive it over $80

[puerco-bellies]

5. Yea, it's Chavez not Mobile, or Exxon.. Yea sure..

BTW Crude is down sharply on the NYMex on inventory numbers. Or perhaps you think that the Pres "jawboned" them down.

[rman]

7. yawn

[cliss]

4. I see Bush and Ahmadinejad at the

poker table. They're playing "World Poker" with the world economy on the table as ante.

It's come down to a showdown between these two. They're going for broke. Bush keeps pounding the war drums. Ahmadinejad shoots back with rhetoric. In the meantime, the price of oil goes up, up, up.

Who's got the best cards in this game?

(I'm standing behind the players, peeking at their cards).

Well, Bush is holding two 2's and two 3's. And it looks like a 5. Is that worth anything?

Ahmadinejad, on the other hand, has 4 aces.

[rman]

6. Nymex was $75.17 on 04/21

according to bloomberg

[hogwyld]

8. Hopefully, it will go to 150 per bbl

That will definitely get people out of their cars! will also spur on alternative energy research.

[slackmaster]

9. ...And falls back to $72.28 on inventory "surprise"

http://money.cnn.com/2006/05/03/markets/oil_eia/index.htm?cnn=yes