THE 2012 PO.com Oil Price Challenge

[pup55]

I am not feeling too good about my 121 anymore. With the big price correction we could really easily have seen the high for the year...

I might pick up a few points on the low side though...

[SeaGypsy]

The fat lady might still sing yet, but is currently busily stuffing down sandwiches on credit.

[Cog]

WTI and Brent are plunging right now. We might test my low number for the year.

[SeaGypsy]

Lots of bad numbers coming out of Europe over the weekend. Could be the beginning of the bumpy ride....

[Cog]

You can have low oil prices and a recession or you can have high oil prices followed by a recession.

Take your pick.

[vtsnowedin]

Now is a good a time as any to go down to my low. Come on $83.50!!!
Plenty of time for it to shoot up to my high later in the fall.

[eXpat]

The fat lady might still sing yet, but is currently busily stuffing down sandwiches on credit.

That´s the best description for our current economic situation!

[vtsnowedin]

Waiting for the "Momma Cass" moment.

[Beery1]

Hang on. I go away for a week and WTI drops nearly 10 points. What's the story?

[vtsnowedin]

Hang on. I go away for a week and WTI drops nearly 10 points. What's the story?

The results of the French and Greek elections. Doom and chaos predicted with major recession likely depressing demand.

[SeaGypsy]

The new French president was on this morning's news effectively saying "Austerity be damned/ it's time to spend spend spend!" I think he may even be fool enough to believe his own spin, that's the real worry.

Firstly, Germany will chuck a fit/ if / when their plans go directly to the shredders. Seems like the plan behind the rhetoric has to be/ France is big enough to withdraw from the Euro and fast track back to the Franc; then printing party Zimbabwe style here we come.

An interesting side note in the statistics from the French election is that the middle/ centrist parties vote virtually disappeared, with voters running to both extreme right and left. A portend perhaps?

[davep]

It was even more extreme in the Greek elections. It's bringing back deep divisions that had nearly been forgotten. Some are comparing it to the nineteen thirties.

[Cog]

Thus it begins.

Aren't we the lucky ones to be around to see it all collapse?

[SeaGypsy]

That depends how you describe collapse. There is the economic side of it, which sure looks messy, but it was only 3 generations ago these nations killed millions of each other's citizens, essentially in what began as a resource (land) war.

[Beery1]

By 'these nations', who exactly do you mean? I didn't remember too many nations sitting out the World Wars, and those who did tended to make oodles of cash either bankrolling those who were fighting, or lending them weapons. There were no innocent bystanders shaking their heads in sadness at the stupidity on display. Most nations were either desperate to stop fascism or desperate to profit from the involvement of others.

So, 'these nations'? A resource war? A.E. Housman put it best, speaking of the Great War. But it's apt for both, I think:

These, in the day when heaven was falling,
The hour when earth’s foundations fled,
Followed their mercenary calling
And took their wages and are dead.

Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
They stood, and earth’s foundations stay;
What God abandoned, these defended,
And saved the sum of things for pay.

And for me it was one generation ago.

[Roryrules]

It was even more extreme in the Greek elections. It's bringing back deep divisions that had nearly been forgotten. Some are comparing it to the nineteen thirties.

Greece in particular is a complete economic basket case, but I think comparisons with the 1930s are overblown. Thankfully there's no chance of another European-wide war happening any time soon.

[careinke]

No updates? With WTI less than $93 there should have been some changes.

[PeakOiler]

It's kinda hard to post an update when the EIA haven't released their report yet. <<wink>>

[careinke]

It's kinda hard to post an update when the EIA haven't released their report yet. <<wink>>

Since May 3rd? Slackers...LOL.

[PeakOiler]

The EIA reports weekly. There wasn't much change in the standings last week, so there was no need to post an update. Pops has learned that it's not necessary to post updates to the Brent Price Challenge thread every week too.

At any rate, the EIA did report a new low price for the year:



I hope it plunges another $17 or so.

Then we can have our annual black swan event...