3/12/08 12:50 GMT - Tapis $111.04; Bonny Light $110.41; Louisiana Sweet $110.10; WTI $108.52

[hatrack]

And the day's just getting going!

http://www.upstreamonline.com/market_data/?id=markets_crude

[madrchsod]

1. 45% of the market is speculation......

[GliderGuider]

2. As it should be.

If you are correct, that speculation is a good thing -- because it's precisely those speculators that ought to be taking Peak Oil into account in their bidding. Their actions therefore represent one of the most important market signals we have to prompt demand destruction, promote the adoption of alternatives and send a signal to the consumers of the world that a Petroleum Gotterdammerung is in the offing.

If there were no speculators, and we had to depend just on the word of IOCs and NOCs, the market picture would be severely distorted (i.e. biased towards present conditions only). With no transparency on reserve figures, and nobody speculating with their own money that the public figures might be bullshit, no effective preparation would be possible and industrial civilization would just hit the energy wall with a little squeak of despair.

[predfan]

3. relative to, say, a loaf of bread, how much is gasoline in Europe?

In other words, how much is our policy of weak dollars, affecting us?

[phantom power]

4. The dollar has lost something like a third of its value since 2005.

So, the effect on oil prices is significant. And the continuing practice of trading oil in dollars is probably still keeping its value artificially high, although that effect seems to be degrading. The "petrodollar" effect seems to be acting like an insulator. It's slowing the loss of value, but not stopping it.

[hatrack]

5. 3/12/08 - Closing Numbers - WTI Breaks $110 For First Time, Closes At $109.92

March 12 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose above $110 a barrel to a record in New York after the dollar weakened to an all-time low against the euro, prompting investors to buy commodities.

The dollar fell to $1.556 per euro, the lowest since the currency's 1999 debut. The declining U.S. currency has spurred investors to move funds into commodities such as oil and gold. Prices fell earlier after a government report showed that U.S. oil and gasoline supplies rose.

``We've rebounded on the decline of the dollar once again,'' said Tim Evans, an energy analyst at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. in New York. ``People are buying oil as a hedge against the weakening U.S. dollar or perceived inflation risk, not because of any shortage of oil.''

Crude oil for April delivery rose $1.17, or 1.1 percent, to settle at $109.92 a barrel at 2:50 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after dropping as low as $107.09. Oil touched $110.20 a barrel, the highest intraday price since the futures began trading in 1983. Brent crude for April settlement rose $1.02, or 1 percent, to close at a record $106.27 a barrel on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. Futures reached $106.41 a barrel today, an intraday record.

EDIT

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601207&sid=a8GJB8fjITio&refer=energy

Elsewhere, three of eleven benchmarks close over $110, eight of eleven close over $105.

http://www.upstreamonline.com/market_data/?id=markets_crude