OPEC: Oil Could Hit $200 A Barrel

Opec's president on Monday warned oil prices could hit $200 a barrel and there would be little the cartel could do to help.

The comments made by Chakib Khelil, Algeria's energy minister, came as oil prices hit a historic peak close to $120 a barrel, putting further pressure on global economies.

His remarks suggest Algeria wants Opec to continue to resist calls by US and European leaders for the cartel to pump more oil to help ease prices. But Mr Khelil blamed record oil prices on the weak dollar and global political insecurity.

He told El Moudjahid, Algeria's government newspaper: "I don't think that an increase in production would help lower prices, because there is a balance between supply and demand and the stocks of gasoline in the United States have recorded a surplus and are at their highest level for five years."

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[pirx]

Remember that 60% of the increase in oil price is a self inflicted wound, caused by the devaluation of the U.S. dollar. Between April 2001 and April 2008, the price of oil in dollars increased by 520%, the price in euros (at contemporary exchange rates) increased by 320%.

We are our own worst enemy.

[RoloTomassi]

While that may well be the case, 320% is hardly negligible. And while policies are certainly a part of the picture, "WE" are largely neutral in the equation, as seven years of pro-criminal/pro-oil government has driven us off a cliff.

[pirx]

"WE" are still responsible for electing our government. "WE" are not neutral. "WE" can either make better choices, or "WE" can just sit back and whine and watch the good ole US of A spiral ifrom 1st to 3rd world status in record time. What happens when OPEC insists on yen or euros in place of dollars?

[EinChicago]

Oil prices will continue to be manipulated until November. Bush was appointed as big oil's puppet for two specific reasons: repeal Kyoto and open up ANWR. He hasn't managed the second yet and his time is running out so the oil bcabal and the Bush crime family will make one last ditch effoirt over the summer to try and drive prices so high that they can get ANWR opened before they leave. The only way oil will come down is when we get teh republican crooks out of congress and behind bars where they belong. Expect an ugly summer as the Oiul Companies and Bush crooks turn up their oil protection racket for one last big push.

[montemalone]

While greed rules in the commodities markets, supply and demand dictates pricing.
For too long, the American way has been to use it up and make more. President Carter tried to encourage people to conserve energy. He put solar panels on the White House. Imagine if research in that technology had been 10% of what is spent on the military to fight energy wars. He was laughed at and we got Reagan, who removed the solar panels.
Now, those pesky peasants in China and India and Russia and the rest of the former SSRs are growing their own economies, and buying cars, and tvs, and microwaves, and air conditioners (energy hogs), and everything else. All these things require energy to produce, transport, and use.
Anybody that thinks dropping the $0.18/gal federal gas tax is going to help needs to resume taking their purple pills. In a few years, we'll be reminiscing about $3.50/gal regular unleaded, and hoping that the brownouts during summer don't last too long.

[RoloTomassi]

You should pay more atteniton before you go around making the bullshit supply/demand argument; even Saudis aren't falling back on that one--OPEC simply wants to restrict the flow to artificially manipulate the price...it's that simple. And so far, it's working quite well.

[thegreatgiginthesky]

the single reason for this increase is: IRAQ

[starrianna]

If we elect a wimp like Obama,

or a hopeless sellout like McCain...

Hello $200 Oil for a LONG time!

I hope and pray that Hillary Clinton gets elected. It's time to stop fooling around.

[RoloTomassi]

If you don't know what you're talking about, it's best to move on to the next article/blog.

[BBackSoon]

Ok, you made a stupid comment, now let"s see you back it up.

Why is Obama a wimp, because he wants to talk to people before bombing them? Yes that is a wimpy thing to do, you cowboy, you.

What exactly do you expect Hillary to do about it? She is in debt up to neck with big oil and if she gets in she is going to have to give them some return on their investment, and it will be business as usual. We might have had better choices in the beginning of the campaign season but we are left with 3 choices. Bush III, Bush Light and Obama. I agree that Obama is a bit of an unknown but we already know what the other two are going to do and it ain"t good.

[windyindie41]

And you think Hillary would do what exactly? Threaten to blow up Iran, or better yet, approve ANOTHER invasion of Iraq, since the one were currently in got us all that oil to pay for the curent conflict and, um, wait, never mind. And how is Obama a wimp, when he's the only candidate who said he would actully go after Osama bin Laden, regardless of what country he's hiding in. No, Hillary is just as much to blame as Bush and McCain for this mess, and if she didn't have the wisdom beforehand to listen to all the smart people whose job it actully is to predict disasters like the one Iraq turned out to be because we let Bush and Co. plan it. While Obama, on the other hand, was among the smart people and rallied against going into Iraq, and realizes that by calming things down in the Middle East region, you improve the "global political insecurity", and in turn, oil will go down.

Then again, I think because Bush and Hillary allowed things to get out of control so fast, and didn't take any time to deal with this problem FIVE YEARS AGO WHEN PRICES STARTED TO SOAR, that OPEC has now put itself on a mission for $200 barrel oil. Why? Because they can and have been getting away with it, and without any kind of alternative energy plans available for the foreseeable future (10-15 years, at least), OPEC has us by the balls.

[ndolomar]

OK, everybody, take a good, long, painful look at this just before you enter the voting booth in November and continue to vote against your own interests. Keep saying and writing things like, "Someone ought to do something about it" and "We need to boycott the oil industry" and "Corporate America is evil" ad infinitum. Then, after you've voted for the politician who will guarantee that you can go on complaining, make sure to come right back here to HuffPo and write how awful and un-American the person you voted for is, and how he or she needs to be out of office. Americans like being powerless -- just look at how misguided they are in retrieving their inherent political and economic power. What will it take for you to wake up? Remember the gentleman who some time ago in California shot himself on the 110 Freeway in protest of HMOs? Remember Oklahoma City? Those tactics seem to be emerging as viable reactions, because people who complain are becoming inactive and breeding desperation, which breeds acts like these. If we are proactive and elect those who represent us, we won't have to see others resorting to such horrific displays because they resent the people they've put in control of their lives. Or, are we going to meet each other here again, in a few months, when oil is $250 a barrel?

[starrianna]

I cannot believe that people are not completely rioting in the streets after all of the craziness that we have seen from the minute that the Clintons handed the country to BushCo.

And people are still giving Bill & Hillary grief!

GROW UP! Wake up!

[RoloTomassi]

When was the last time you went out to rouse the rabble for a riot? Yup, that's what I thought.

[ndolomar]

Protest every weekend in Downtown Los Angeles with Code Pink; volunteer for AIDS Foundation Services, Orange County; vote; write my congressmen and -women; spread knowledge to as many people as I can with my posts. That's what I've done -- judge it as you must.

[HLMerkin]

Why would an electorate with a sizable percentage of voters that would even consider voting for a Clinton riot in the streets? Bush and Clinton are peas in the same pod.

[EinChicago]

If Bush and Clinton are peas in a pod, Obama is the GMO cloned duplicate of Bush.

[TheShadow]

Why stop there???? Speculators and the big oil run this market, and they will make every effort to push it as high as it can be reached despite the fact that it will cut their noses and spite their faces.

Welcome to the world of the "unregulated" commodities trading freak show. Thank you Bill Clinton, and the Republican House which allowed the laws to go by the wayside in the late 90's.

[RoloTomassi]

Oh, it goes back farther than that...remember Black Friday? Can you say RONNIE RAYGUN?