NYT: Oil Market Refuses to Heed (Saudi) Positive News (demand/disruption)

[DeepModem Mom]

The Oil Market Refuses to Heed Positive News
By JAD MOUAWAD

Published: August 12, 2004


PARIS, Aug. 11 - World energy markets are so concerned about strong demand and possible disruptions of supplies that oil prices finished higher on Wednesday, even though Saudi Arabia announced that it had the capacity to pump 1.3 million more barrels a day immediately if needed.

Low-sulfur crude oil for delivery next month settled at $44.80 a barrel in New York, up 28 cents, after a turbulent day of bobbing up and down with each news development. The record price at the end of the day, set on Monday, is $44.84 a barrel; prices within pennies of $45 have been seen during trading several times this week.

Underlying the rising cost of oil in recent months has been strong global demand. The International Energy Agency, based in Paris, said in a report on Wednesday that the world's thirst for oil would be even greater in the rest of 2004 and in 2005 than it previously forecast, increasing pressure on producers to step up output at a time when rising oil prices could slow world economic recovery.

Though fears of supply disruptions in Iraq, the legal uncertainty surrounding the Russian oil giant Yukos, and surging demand in China have helped push prices to one record high after another recently, the agency's report took note of increasing production in Saudi Arabia and Russia and tried to dispel concerns about a fundamental shortage of oil....


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/12/business/12oil.html

[ClintonTyree]

1. And..............

our glorious leader thinks this is a good time to top off the stategic oil reserves in our country. Let's see, filling the strategic oil reserves at a time of record high prices, taking oil off the market driving prices even higher, who would benefit from these actions? Bush's oil buddies, that's who. They're robbing the Treasury once again, our money, to give to his fat cat pals, and they're laughing all the way to the bank.

Even Bush's CONServative pals in the financial sector say he should stop this and let more oil become available on the open market, but old Bushie Boy isn't going to listen to them. They have to rape the Treasury once again so his oil pals get even richer (how much frickin' money do you need)?