Oil Drops Another 5 Percent, Nears $43

[Freddie Stubbs]

By Andrew Mitchell

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices crumbled to an 11-week low near $43 a barrel on Thursday, suffering the biggest 2-day slide since the Gulf War (news - web sites) after an increase in U.S. heating oil stocks triggered heavy selling from big-money speculative funds.

U.S. crude oil futures fell $2.34 a barrel, or 5.1 percent to $43.15, the lowest level since mid-September, while London Brent was down $2.31 at $40.00.

U.S. prices plunged $3.64, or 7.4 percent on Wednesday, and the combined fall over the two sessions is the steepest since 1990 according to Reuters figures.

Prices are now more than $13 below their October all-time high, although still 30 percent up from the start of the year.

more: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=568&ncid=749&e=4&u=/nm/20041202/bs_nm/markets_oil_dc

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. What's going on here?

Has the market, as is usual for an over-speculated energy market, finally reached some tipping point? Is this a slide that will scream ever downward, taking out some of the small options players who had no business in there anyway?

Curious.

[durablend]

2. The rich getting even richer!

They're going to make up for the slide on the distribution side (ie what us SUCKERS pay). How long (if EVER) does you think before any of this slide makes it down to the retail level?

[Anarcho-Socialist]

4. I think it's just profit-taking, people are selling oil stakes

and holdings in other currencies to 'bank' the recent profits from the dollar slide/oil upsurge.

[MrUnderhill]

7. 12% in two days is not "profit taking"... it's a "correction".

Though I wouldn't mind if it were the bursting of a bubble.... I rather doubt it.

[htuttle]

6. The Dollar is shooting up a bit

And oil and gold, both priced in dollars, are going down.

It could be a currency intervention, with gold and oil prices following the dollar.

:shrug:

[ZR2]

3. Wasn't this supposed to happen

just prior to the election ?

[hatrack]

5. This, too, shall pass away nt

.

[johncoby2]

8. An gas prices will follow! yea right...... EOM

[mhr]

9. Reduced Demand As The Dwindling Middle Class And Poor Pull Back?

Seems plausible given that all indicators are that the economy is struggling.

Still unemployed here - 54 months and counting!

[KingChicken]

10. Supply increase not production increase, market is over reacting.

Investors really want to start buying again so they start making up reasons There is no real backing to the price decrease, it's just people getting excited by a supply recovery...

[durablend]

12. Headed back up--what the hell is really going on?!?!?

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000006&sid=a8seY63ULWGk&refer=home

Oil Rises on Concern Refiners May Struggle to Boost Fuel Stocks

Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil futures rose for the first day in four, paring a 13 percent decline, on speculation U.S. refiners may struggle to replenish heating fuel supplies before the start of cold weather.



What the hell kind of nonsense are they pulling? The fundamentals didn't change in just 6 hours time so obviously some of these analysts are full of shit (your guess as to which ones), or like you said, they're making excuses up as they go along.

Or did this notion about heating supplies not occur to them during the past 3 days? (in which event, I rest my case)

[rolltide2005]

11. dont worry

the BUsh KKKRime family will keep our prices high so their oil buddies can keep hundreds of millions o profits daily