Skip navigation
Watchlist Sponsored By :


Current DateTime: 12:37:57 12 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 24355697

FEATURED QUIZZES


Current DateTime: 12:37:57 12 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 33793611
  • The Billionaire BFF's

      These billionaire's have led undeniably exceptional lives. In the following quiz, can you tell which responses are based on facts from Buffett's and Gates' real lives?

  • The Many Myths of Coca-Cola

      Can you tell which statements are true, and which ones are just rumors?

  • Think You Understand Markets?

      We've selected some questions from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's test of investor knowledge. See how you do ...


Current DateTime: 12:37:57 12 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 24890560
  • Winterizing Your Portfolio

      If 2009 was the winter of our discontent, will 2010 be a winter wonderland for investors? A lot depends on the recovery—or lack thereof.

  • Investor's Guide to Real Estate

      Some even say the long-awaited recovery is here. Regardless, buyers and sellers alike can profit from our guide.

  • Alternative Investing

      Stocks and bonds? Sure. But it's a big world out there for investors.

powered by digg
By: CNBC.com | 19 Oct 2007 | 02:26 PM ET
Text Size

Oil edged downward, after surging to a record high above $90 per barrel earlier on Friday, as tight fuel stocks ahead of winter and a softening U.S. dollar spurred investor buying.

Oil Prices

Oil prices has been driven upward by an unprecedented weakness in the dollar, which fell to another record low against the euro on Friday -- a factor that has supported all dollar-denominated commodities.

U.S. light crude for the soon-to-expire November contract [US@CL.1  Loading...      ()   ] dropped by 70 cents to $88.77 a barrel, having hit a record high of $90.07 earlier.

December London Brent crude [GB@IB.1  Loading...      ()] lost 57 cents to $84.03.

In an interview with CNBC, legendary oilman Boone Pickens reiterated his conviction that "You'll see $100 ber barrel before you'll see $80." He chalks up the record high prices to crude inventories at "all-time lows."

Pickens' hedge fund, BP Capital, invests in energy equities. While he demurs from making judgements on a day-to-day basis, he maintained that "the trend is up."

"If there is no recession, you'll see 100. ...[but] if there is a recession, that'll change the playing field real quick," Pickens declared.

Oil has averaged just over $67 per barrel this year and is climbing towards the inflation-adjusted high of $101.70 hit in April 1980, a year after the Iranian revolution.

Besides the weak dollar, concern that supply may be stretched in winter, when fuel demand peaks, lent support to prices.

"The dollar weakened further, spurring some investment into oil as a hedge against dollar weakness," said David Moore, commodity strategist from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

"And there are still concerns that oil market conditions will remain tight over the northern winter."

U.S. President George W. Bush would like to see oil prices lower than their current levels, the White House said on Friday.

"There's no magic to any particular number like $90 a barrel. Obviously we prefer oil prices lower," White House spokesman Tony Fratto told reporters.

The price rise has also concerned OPEC, which may call for an early formal meeting to discuss a further output increase. An OPEC supply rise of 500,000 barrels per day (bpd), agreed last month, will take effect on Nov. 1.

Although stocks of fuel in top consumer the United States rose last week, crude inventories stand about 4 percent below a year ago, while gasoline and distillate stocks are about 7 percent below last year.

Rising political tension between Turkey and Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq has also spurred gains, as traders worry about a disruption in flows of Iraq's northern oil exports.

© 2009 CNBC.com
Tools:
Print EmailAdd This share icon
  • digg share

CNBC HIGHLIGHTS

  • Bernard Madoff's Baseball Jacket
  • Bernard and Ruth Madoff's personal possessions will be auctioned this weekend. Click ahead to see.
  • US real estate prices have fallen dramatically, but some places are still doing well. See the best-performing zip codes this year.
  • An Italian cashmere maker aims to make profits while creating ideal conditions for his workers.
  • Just in time for the holidays, the Triumph company of Japan offers the latest innovation in women’s undergarments.
  • The real result of health care reform will be bloated government and higher deficits, says Larry Kudlow.
  • Vote and suggest your own, and remember--there's a fine line between a hero and a zero.
ADD COMMENTS
Remaining characters


Current DateTime: 03:37:26 11 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29778428

Current DateTime: 01:02:04 11 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779196

Current DateTime: 12:13:25 12 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779199

Current DateTime: 01:02:04 11 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779198
  Data is a real-time snapshot  *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis

© 2009 CNBC, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.
A Division of NBC Universal
Thomson ReutersThomson Reuters