Oil Drops to $91 as Rush to $100 Stalls

Investors had been expecting a rise

(NEWSER) - Crude prices are headed north this morning, after OPEC surprised the market by keeping production flat instead of ramping it up, the Wall Street Journal reports. Nymex crude is currently up almost 2%, above $100 a barrel, after being down ahead of the announcement. OPEC's secretary-general told reporters that the countries were "unable to reach consensus to raise production," according to the AP . More»

As easy oil supplies dwindle, project launched along Saudi-Kuwaiti border

(NEWSER) - Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have embarked on a risky, expensive hunt for heavy crude—and that might be a bad sign for global oil supplies. For decades these countries have fueled the world with its easy-to-drill light oil supply, but now those reserves are drying up, one Middle East energy analyst explains to the Wall Street Journal . “The easy oil is coming to an end,” he says. So the countries have resorted to a bold experiment: mining their shared Wafra oil field for its previously unattainable heavy crude supply, estimated at 25 billion barrels. More»

'We're reimbursing ourselves'

(NEWSER) - Donald Trump has an interesting concept of how the world’s oil markets work: In an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC , Trump opined that the reason oil was so high was because “We don’t have anybody in Washington that calls OPEC and says, ‘Fellas, it’s time. It’s over. You’re not going to do it anymore.’” When Stephanopoulos pressed him on how he’d back up that threat, Trump replied, “I’m going to look ‘em in the eye and say, ‘Fellas, you’ve had your fun. Your fun is over.’” More»

But he just loves this country too much not to

(NEWSER) - Donald Trump was quite the braggart on CNN’s State of the Union today. Highlights from Politico:

• Trump is better than Romney: “Mitt Romney is a basically small-business guy, if you really think about it,” Trump said , adding that he is “much bigger than this man and have a much, much bigger net worth. I mean my net worth is many, many, many times Mitt Romney.”
• And his company is, too: “I've built a great company. And one of the beauties of, frankly, if and when I announce, some time prior to June, you will see how big my company is, because it's much bigger and much more powerful and much stronger than anyone really knows.”

As US drivers complain, those overseas think we're lucky

(NEWSER) - Gas prices are climbing again, which means people are complaining, which means it's time for a spate of stories showing how relatively cheap gas remains in the US. Here's a rough estimate of world prices per gallon, courtesy of CNN :

• US: $3.53
• Norway: $9.28
• Europe: Between $7.50 and $8 for most, including Britain, Ireland, Italy, France, and Germany.