Oil tops $105. Oil wavers as traders profit from rally.

[phk]

Oil wavers as traders profit from rally

As forecasters cut their oil demand growth forecasts, crude prices fluctuate after briefly spiking to $105.97 a barrel.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices fluctuated Thursday as some investors sold to lock in profits from a rally that added 6.4% to the price of a barrel of crude in less than two days while others bought as the dollar dropped to new lows against the euro.

At the pump, meanwhile, gas prices extended their advance toward record levels. The national average price of a gallon of gas rose 0.7 of a cent overnight to $3.185, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Gas prices are following oil higher, and are expected to peak this spring well above last May's record of $3.227 a gallon.

Thursday brought a mixed slate of economic news. Although reports on same-store sales suggested some retailers are doing better than expected and the number of people filing for unemployment claims dropped last week, home foreclosures jumped in the fourth quarter to an all-time high, according to The Mortgage Bankers Association.

The European Central Bank and Bank of England, meanwhile, decided to leave interest rates unchanged.

The foreclosure data and European interest rate decisions helped push the dollar lower. Analysts believe the steadily weakening dollar is the reason oil prices have jumped to a number of new inflation-adjusted record highs this week. Crude futures offer a hedge against a falling dollar, and oil futures bought and sold in dollars are more attractive to foreign investors when the dollar is falling.

Still, after a big gain, investors often sell some positions to lock in profits, analysts said.

"I think it's profit-taking day, regardless of what the dollar is doing," said James Cordier, founder of OptionSellers.com, a Tampa, Fla., trading firm.

Light, sweet crude for April delivery fell 74 cents to $103.78 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after earlier spiking to a new record of $105.97. Prices frequently alternated between gains and losses.

Keeping a floor under oil prices Thursday was an overnight rebel attack on a Colombian oil pipeline that transports 60,000 barrels of oil a day for export markets.

"The attack was in response to the Colombian military's killing of a high ranking member of the rebel group... during a raid into Ecuador," said Addison Armstrong, director of exchange Traded Markets at TFS Energy Futures LLC in Stamford, Conn., in a research note. "The Transandino Pipeline may be out of service for up to three days following the explosion."

The attack came as traders worried about escalating tensions between Colombia and Venezuela over Colombia's raid into Ecuador. Venezuela moved tanks and soldiers to the Colombian border. Ecuador said Monday it had sent 3,200 soldiers to its border with Colombia.

In other Nymex trading, April heating oil futures fell 1.36 cents to $2.9295 a gallon, while April gasoline futures fell 4.21 cents to $2.60 a gallon.

April natural gas futures rose 2.5 cents to $9.766 per 1,000 cubic feet. The Energy Department said inventories fell by 135 billion cubic feet last week, less than analysts had expected.

In London, Brent crude fell 52 cents to $101.12 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Diesel prices jumped 1.4 cents overnight to a new record national average of $3.71 a gallon. High diesel prices are boosting prices of consumer goods, the vast majority of which are transported by the distillate fuel. To top of page
First Published: March 6, 2008: 6:55

[GMantis]

That may be a bit off topic, but the dollar has also fallen to a new low:
Euro Eaches record high.

[dead0man]

Good.  This will get us off the evil foreign oil sooner rather than later.  Right?  Isn't that what we all want?

[Speed of Sound]

Its like black gold! O_O

[opebo]

Good.  This will get us off the evil foreign oil sooner rather than later.  Right?  Isn't that what we all want?

What?  Are you going to ride around on a donkey?  It is not possible to 'get off' the foreign oil.

[??????????]

Good.  This will get us off the evil foreign oil sooner rather than later.  Right?  Isn't that what we all want?

What?  Are you going to ride around on a donkey?  It is not possible to 'get off' the foreign oil.

Correct. Not as long as the looney enviroMENTALs have anything to say about it.

[opebo]

Good.  This will get us off the evil foreign oil sooner rather than later.  Right?  Isn't that what we all want?

What?  Are you going to ride around on a donkey?  It is not possible to 'get off' the foreign oil.

Correct. Not as long as the looney enviroMENTALs have anything to say about it.

What, they're holding you back from your donkey powered truck?  What the hell do you think the environmental people have to do with this issue?  They have no power at all.

[War on Want]

Good.  This will get us off the evil foreign oil sooner rather than later.  Right?  Isn't that what we all want?

Not exactly. I would rather we got off without hurting millions of working families around the globe and without creating recession. Then again some bad things have to happen for change.(Great Depression anyone?)

[Person Man]

This isn't a good thing, even though you can put a positive spin on it.

[??????????]

Good.  This will get us off the evil foreign oil sooner rather than later.  Right?  Isn't that what we all want?

What?  Are you going to ride around on a donkey?  It is not possible to 'get off' the foreign oil.

Correct. Not as long as the looney enviroMENTALs have anything to say about it.

What, they're holding you back from your donkey powered truck?  What the hell do you think the environmental people have to do with this issue?  They have no power at all.

Why do you think no new refineries have been built in the US in over 30 years?

[Stranger in a strange land]

Good.  This will get us off the evil foreign oil sooner rather than later.  Right?  Isn't that what we all want?

What?  Are you going to ride around on a donkey?  It is not possible to 'get off' the foreign oil.

Correct. Not as long as the looney enviroMENTALs have anything to say about it.

What, they're holding you back from your donkey powered truck?  What the hell do you think the environmental people have to do with this issue?  They have no power at all.

Why do you think no new refineries have been built in the US in over 30 years?

oil doesn't come from refineries: that's not the problem. We have plenty of refining capacity, and just a decade ago, oil was as low as $10 a barrel, and gas was about $1.15 per gallon.

Foreign oil is evil: it sponsors terrorism, human rights abuses, and the spread of Muslim radicalism. If we found an alternative to oil, it would solve most of our problems in the Middle East. Even if we could reduce the amount of oil we consume, it would help quite a bit. One of the best ways to do this is to build new nuclear power plants. Unfortunately an unholy alliance between environmentalists and oil companies is preventing this.

Also a huge amount of energy is wasted: we could do simple, inexpensive things like upgrade power cables to cut down on transmission losses.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

That may be a bit off topic, but the dollar has also fallen to a new low:
Euro Eaches record high.

Not off topic, and part of the reason why oil is so damned expensive.

[opebo]

One of the best ways to do this is to build new nuclear power plants. Unfortunately an unholy alliance between environmentalists and oil companies is preventing this.

Also a huge amount of energy is wasted: we could do simple, inexpensive things like upgrade power cables to cut down on transmission losses.

Oil is burned for transport.  Eletrical power is made from coal, which is not imported.  So, all those ideas about nuclear power and saving electricity are useless.

There is no reasonable alternative to oil for transport, except possibly for liquified natural gas.

That may be a bit off topic, but the dollar has also fallen to a new low:
Euro Eaches record high.

Not off topic, and part of the reason why oil is so damned expensive.

Yes, oil has not been rising much at all for people with sound currencies and well managed economies.

[dead0man]

If we want to import less foreign oil the number one thing we can do is to raise the price of gas.  Nothing else (apparently) will do it.  Americans are to selfish, ignorant and stubborn.

As proof, see California.

[??????????]

Ethanol is not a real answer either, especially considering it takes more energy to create a gallon of the stuff then is made & agricultural pollution goes through the roof.

[dead0man]

Ethanol is not a real answer either, especially considering it takes more energy to create a gallon of the stuff then is made & agricultural pollution goes through the roof.

Agreed.  We can't make enough to put a dent in our transportation related energy needs.  Subsidizing it is stupid. (and I'm from a state that gains much by the subsidies)

[??????????]

Ethanol is not a real answer either, especially considering it takes more energy to create a gallon of the stuff then is made & agricultural pollution goes through the roof.

Agreed.  We can't make enough to put a dent in our transportation related energy needs.  Subsidizing it is stupid. (and I'm from a state that gains much by the subsidies)

Pollution in the Gulf has gone up nearly two-fold since they've started growing more corn for ethanol.

[dead0man]

On the other hand, if we can make use of other plant life for fuel that doesn't require such good land, as much work or as hard of an impact on the environment that corn does (many farms are ecological disaster areas that would be shut down and fined if they were an industry in a city).  Like "switchgrass" and what not.  I don't know if it's feasible as a major alternative, but I know ethanol from corn isn't.

[Stranger in a strange land]

One of the best ways to do this is to build new nuclear power plants. Unfortunately an unholy alliance between environmentalists and oil companies is preventing this.

Also a huge amount of energy is wasted: we could do simple, inexpensive things like upgrade power cables to cut down on transmission losses.

Oil is burned for transport.  Eletrical power is made from coal, which is not imported.  So, all those ideas about nuclear power and saving electricity are useless.

There is no reasonable alternative to oil for transport, except possibly for liquified natural gas.

lots of oil is still burned for electricity. And what about electric cars? I'm talking about a car that you could plug into the power grid and then drive. The technology for this has been around for years, but it's been held back by the oil companies.

[dead0man]

I can't believe people still believe that.  Cite?

[Jake]

lots of oil is still burned for electricity. And what about electric cars? I'm talking about a car that you could plug into the power grid and then drive. The technology for this has been around for years, but it's been held back by the oil companies.

Not from what I understand. It's held back by the range of the vehicle and the need to recharge it for hours rather than fill up at the pump for three minutes. Electric cars make a hell of a lot of sense for commuters, but for folks that use their car for 3+ hours of travel they're not practicable.

[Person Man]

What about Hydrogen Fuel Cells? Would there be a non-polluting way of creating hydrogen. Having water as pollution would be a better deal as the water cycle is much faster than the CO2 cycle.

[Jake]

Apparently Fuel Cells are not only prolific polluters to manufacture, but they use rare materials that are too scarce to rely on for mass production.

[they don't love you like i love you]

Solar powered cars with a battery capable of being charged up to 12 hours worth would likely work. The problem is probably cost at this moment.

[they don't love you like i love you]

BTW, rising gas prices haven't phased me so much now that I'm happily in the city. Even when I drive somewhere, it's not far. The biggest problem for me is that my supplementary income from "donating" plasma now requires that I drive to Mounds View. It's not that far out, 9 miles according to Google Maps, but it's on the interstate, and that's 9 miles both ways, 18 miles overall. With my old car's gas mileage dropping, it's probably taking a gallon each trip (I'll find out for sure tomorrow, since I just filled my tank full and plan to do so after coming back from there tomorrow to learn the exact amount). That's twice a week at $3/gallon = $6 transportation costs. And I receive $60 for two donations a week, so 10% of that income is going to gas. I'm considering transferring to a different plasma company that has a center within Minneapolis and pays the same and is only about a mile away, but that would require that I skip a week which is a lost $60, but I'll have to sometime and after that I'll transfer. If I do that I'll probably be using only about 2 gallons a week at most.