Oil prices went up? It's Israel's fault of course!
Crude oil prices rose by 12% on Monday and of course, Israel is to blame. Note the headline of this story: "Oil up 12% after Israel raids Gaza." Now read the story.Crude oil rose as much as 12 per cent after Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip raised concerns that supply from the Middle East may be disrupted.Note that 12% wasn't the closing price and that much of the jump is based upon the December 19 price - eight days before Israel invaded Gaza. And note also that China and Iran are at least as much the cause of the price rise as Israel's action in Gaza - which is hundreds of miles from world oil supplies.
Prices also advanced as China, the world's second-biggest energy consumer, said it will supplement its emergency oil stockpiles while prices are low, while Libya and the UAE announced compliance with Opec output cuts agreed on this month.
"The instability in the Middle East may well push oil prices higher," said Rob Laughlin, a senior broker with MF Global Ltd. in London. "China's plans to stockpile crude may take up some slack from the demand destruction from the economic slowdown."
Crude oil for February delivery rose $1.57, or 4.2 per cent, to $39.28 a barrel as of 9:32am on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, it touched $42.20 a barrel in the biggest gain in two weeks.
Iran holds the world's second- largest oil reserves and sits on the narrow sea channel through which oil from the Arabian Gulf is shipped.
"Any Iranian escalation or more visible Iranian involvement would push the price higher," said David Pursell, managing director of Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. in Houston. "Unless there's more to it, ultimately what matters is we've got to get the global economy back to normal before you can count on sustainably higher oil prices."
Futures prices fell 11 per cent last week, reaching a four-year low of $32.40 on December 19.
So why does the headline read "Oil up 12% after Israel raids Gaza"?
Hmmm.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:47 AM
5 Comments:
Yeah, right - if the Elders Of Zion really controlled the world, they would drive down oil prices! Hmmm....
Hilarious - Wouldn't the filthy rich oil ticks want the price to go up? They were looking for ways to raise the price, but global oil consumption has dropped because of the economic slump. If the oil ticks believe that the Gaza conflict raised the barrel price, they should be thanking the Israelis. They'd say anything to blame Israel, even if it sends them laughing all the way to the bank.
because no matter what Israel does, the world will not look favourably on it. Is there a PR problem within Israel? Probably. Would it make a difference if this problem was solved? Probably not.
I'm surprised they didn't blame Bush somehow too.
Hmmm... looking at oil prices today and they are down $1.32 at 2PM U.S. Central Time. Where's the new headlines I wonder. Sensationalism sells. It sells even better if they have a scapegoat. And, Israel seems to be the ultimate scapegoat.
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