[Sixstrings]

(Reuters) - Brent oil prices jumped above $101 a barrel for the first time since 2008 on Monday on concern that unrest in Egypt could spread to Middle Eastern crude-producing countries or disrupt Suez Canal flows.

(snip) Brokers and analysts also pointed to a recently improving economic outlook and demand growth already providing bullish momentum for oil prices, along with heating fuel demand boosted by severe cold snaps during the Northern Hemisphere winter.

Monday saw more supportive economic data from the United States in the form of better Midwest factory activity and firmer consumer spending.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/31/us-markets-oil-idUSTRE6BD61U20110131

Well that's interesting.. oil is up on bad news AND good news. Sounds like a catch-22.. even without any bad news, just "an improving economy" pushes oil up and then we all know what happens after that.. crash, recession, reset again at a lower level. Rinse and repeat.

Anyhow, welcome back to 2008 everybody!

MARK SHENK / Bloomberg 20feb2008
Crude oil advanced to a record $101.32 barrel in New York on speculation U.S. interest rate cuts will bolster fuel consumption.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke has indicated the central bank will reduce U.S. interest rates if financial conditions and the availability of credit deteriorate. Rising world demand for raw materials helped send oil and commodities including soybeans and platinum to records this week.

"There are 100 reasons for prices to rise, because the market is tight," said Adam Sieminski, Deutsche Bank's chief energy economist in New York. "The only thing that will end this rally is a serious economic downturn. Demand is still expected to grow by more than 1 million barrels a day this year."
http://www.mindfully.org/Energy/2008/Oil-$101-Barrel20feb08.htm

Well at at least they're not blaming Ben Bernanke this time around.

[vision-master]

Anyhow, welcome back to 2008!

The next 'recovery' will be even weaker.

Cut all entitlements and keep those tax cuts for the weathly - ya, that's the ticket.

[Plantagenet]

I wonder how long it will take for Obama and the dems to start blaming the $100/bbl oil on evil oil companies and greedy speculators.

[Sixstrings]

Some more info from Yahoo's article:

NEW YORK (AFP) – Oil prices smashed through $100 a barrel Monday for the first time since the 2008 economic crisis, as traders worried that unrest in Egypt could disrupt oil flows through the Suez Canal.

Oil prices surged to $101 a barrel for London's main Brent North Sea crude contract, as protesters gathered for a seventh straight day amid threats of a general strike.

Egypt is not a major oil producer, but is home to the vitally important Suez Canal, which carries around 2.4 million barrels of oil a day -- roughly equivalent to the daily output of Iraq or Brazil.
Egyptian authorities insist the canal is still working at full capacity, but unrest has caused major shipping giants such as AP Moller-Maersk to halt operations in the country.

The threat of delays have prompted some normally reticent oil industry honchos to sound the alarm.
OPEC secretary-general Abdalla Salem El-Badri warned "there could be a real shortage" of crude oil passing through Suez.
While stressing that the market was still well supplied, El-Badri said "if we see a real shortage, we will need to act."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110131/bs_afp/commoditiesenergyoilprice#mwpphu-container

So the likely guess here is that no, the Suez won't close down but some shippers are already avoiding it -- so that's going to spike prices.

[vision-master]

I wonder how long it will take for Obama and the dems to start blaming the $100/bbl oil on evil oil companies and greedy speculators.

Planted, your maybe turning into this pretty soon.

IDF: 3 projectiles fired from Gaza into Israeli territory shatter the fragile peace in the area. The Israeli military says two rockets fired from Gaza have exploded in Israeli towns. No one was hurt, but there was some damage.

The attacks came a few minutes apart late Monday. One rocket hit Netivot, 9 miles (14 kilometers) east of Gaza, and the second exploded in Ofakim, 15 miles (25 kilometers) from Gaza.

The military says the range indicates the rockets were Grads. Israel charges that Iran supplies Gaza militants with Grads.

[Livewire713]

I wonder how long it will take for Obama and the dems to start blaming the $100/bbl oil on evil oil companies and greedy speculators.

Probably about as fast as someone on the right yelling Drill Baby Drill.

[vision-master]

Sounds like a male thingy, just like how we spurt into space under a huge firecraker.

[dissident]

No, they are blaming it on "unrest in the Middle East." Which is (known only to a select few here at PO.com and TheOildrum.com) a consequence of raising food and oil prices. Wait. What is used to grow food?

The media will ignore peak oil and yammer about political and economic instability all the way down the production slope. There will be more and more excuses every day as things go to hell and the propagandists won't miss a chance to use it. Of course, peak oil will be occasionally mentioned as a theory proposed by some non-mainstream people and hence not all that credible. If you deny it outright the masses may start to believe it.

[Xenophobe]

(Reuters) - Brent oil prices jumped above $101 a barrel for the first time since 2008 on Monday on concern that unrest in Egypt could spread to Middle Eastern crude-producing countries or disrupt Suez Canal flows.

EXCELLENT!! BRING ON THE BURN BABY! $250/bbl, here we come!! Unfortunately, any needed price spike will dissipate when the tensions do. DARN IT! We NEED $250/bbl, and we need it NOW!

[IsThisRealLife]

Well that's interesting.. oil is up on bad news AND good news. Sounds like a catch-22.. even without any bad news, just "an improving economy" pushes oil up and then we all know what happens after that.. crash, recession, reset again at a lower level. Rinse and repeat.

Indeed, we don't know the difference between what's good for us and bad for us anymore.

One thing for sure, the more assets you have, the more equity you have, the more money you have, the more liquidity you have ... the better off you are. The balance of equality is enormously skewed towards the rich. Conversely, if you're poor, you're up shit creek without a paddle.

Welcome to 2008!

What's going to be the first big bank to belly up? Well, forget about that. We have a solution: bail out.

[eXpat]

Oil’s Rally Ends as Egypt Risk Subsides; Brent Stays Above $100

Oil dropped from a two-year high as concern eased that supplies through the Suez Canal may be disrupted by unrest in Egypt. Brent crude traded at more than $100 a barrel for a second day.

Futures trimmed two-day gains after Suez Canal officials said traffic is moving normally through the main artery for more than 2.2 million barrels of oil a day. A U.S. government report tomorrow may show stockpiles grew for a third week, according to a Bloomberg News survey.

“So far the escalating violence in Suez has seen no specific targeting of shipping facilities or passing ships,” Andrey Kryuchenkov, a London-based analyst at VTB Capital, said in a note. “We still see little threat to major producing nations, with the exception of Algeria, where we had some unrest earlier this month.”

Oil for March delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped as much as 94 cents, or 1 percent, to $91.25 a barrel and was at $91.36 a barrel at 12:18 p.m. London time. Yesterday it gained to $92.19, the highest settlement since Oct. 3, 2008. Futures rose 0.9 percent in January. Brent for March settlement fell as much as 73 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $100.28 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London. It rose to $101.73 yesterday, the highest price since Sept. 29, 2008.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-01/oil-drops-from-two-year-high-as-investors-sell-after-rally-on-egypt-unrest.html

[mos6507]

This isn't the big one, folks. You guys are gonna pull a Matt Simmons on us again with the chicken little act. Geologically-induced peak oil doom is still a few years off at least. Close enough to be worried, yes, but not close enough that we should continue to blow our credibility by mistaking one cause and effect with another. Yes, we're in the "peak oil zone" as Fatih Birol says, but this is really nothing compared to what real peak oil doom is gonna look like when we fall off the production plateau (for all liquids, not just conventional).

[vision-master]

$250/bbl, here we come!! Unfortunately, any needed price spike will dissipate when the tensions do. DARN IT! We NEED $250/bbl, and we need it NOW!

You better start carrying on that motorcycle in order to survive. Motorcycles are easy prey.

[dolanbaker]

Sustained high oil prices have already caused food prices to rise, which in turn will eventually cause the costs of everything else to rise and finally cause wages to rise.

Exactly what the financial world needs to "bury" the debts.

As it is the Suez only carries about 1% of oil tanker traffic (according to the BBC website) so there is little risk of any significant shortages in Europe, delayed spipments perhaps as it goes the long way round but that's all.

[dolanbaker]

(Reuters) - Brent oil prices jumped above $101 a barrel for the first time since 2008 on Monday on concern that unrest in Egypt could spread to Middle Eastern crude-producing countries or disrupt Suez Canal flows.

EXCELLENT!! BRING ON THE BURN BABY!

$250/bbl, here we come!!

Unfortunately, any needed price spike will dissipate when the tensions do. DARN IT! We NEED $250/bbl, and we need it NOW!

Raise oil prices by 250% and keep it there for any length of time and soon inflation of everything else will catch up with it, just like it did countless times in the past.

Only difference is, that wages may not fully keep up!

[Sixstrings]

This isn't the big one, folks. You guys are gonna pull a Matt Simmons on us again with the chicken little act. Geologically-induced peak oil doom is still a few years off at least.

I never said this is "the big one" it just is what it is -- $101 oil.

If you wanted to downplay it you should have pointed out that this is brent north sea crude.. whereas the price in New York closed at $91 I think. That's another topic for discussion, wtf is going on in UK with their gas shortage. Their parliament was talking rationing before the ME crisis. And now brent crude is $101 a barrel.

So there's a disconnect there I don't understand, why is the UK having a peak oil emergency but we're not.

[vision-master]

Maybe due to their unusual cold and snowy winter?

[americandream]

This isn't the big one, folks. You guys are gonna pull a Matt Simmons on us again with the chicken little act. Geologically-induced peak oil doom is still a few years off at least. Close enough to be worried, yes, but not close enough that we should continue to blow our credibility by mistaking one cause and effect with another. Yes, we're in the "peak oil zone" as Fatih Birol says, but this is really nothing compared to what real peak oil doom is gonna look like when we fall off the production plateau (for all liquids, not just conventional).

+1