Business Insight Zone

I make a habit — possibly too much of a habit — of checking oil prices throughout the day. It’s gotten to the point lately that I’m no longer surprised when the NYMEX futures price and the West Texas Intermediate spot price both sit at $80 or above. But every time they run up into this range, the prices seem to soften again — no doubt in part because price speculators are locking in gains.

But as of now (a few minutes before 5 p.m. CDT), the NYMEX future prices is $83.09. Eighty-three dollars! Yes, we went up into this territory last week, but it still surprises me to see it.

What’s driving the price? A number of the usual suspects: detailed refinery inventory numbers used by industry insiders, renewed unrest in the oil-producing southeastern region of Nigeria, and sustained high demand, even after the brunt of the summer has passed.

And then there’s the wild card: What will the US (or the UN) do about Iran’s nuclear program?

This AP story has useful background on oil prices.

Category: Energy