Oil Up, Dollar Down, Stocks Stall

Weak greenback and strong demand could send crude over $100 a barrel today

(NEWSER) - The price of oil hit a record high mere pennies from $100 a barrel and the dollar sunk to a new low in early trading today. Oil hit $99.29 but slipped back to $98.64. With cold weather hitting the US, and OPEC supplies limited, some analysts think oil prices could hit the $100- a-barrel milestone as early as today. The continued drop in the dollar against other currencies is helping fuel the rise. More»

Oil falls under $100 as Americans start driving less

(NEWSER) - It looks like gas prices will start heading down for once. Both AP and the New York Times quote experts saying the price has probably peaked and will begin ticking downward from the national average of just under $4. Skeptics can look to oil prices, which dropped below $100 a barrel on Thursday and have fallen 12% in four days. Part of the reason: Traders are worried that Americans are driving less and putting a crimp in demand for crude. More»

Doc tells of disastrous effects of oil extraction

(NEWSER) - Crude is a hard-hitting documentary about the ravages of the oil industry—Chevron is the villain here—on indigenous people in Ecuador. Critics are wowed:

• “Here’s a powerhouse of a documentary that makes you feel mad as hell and unwilling to take it anymore,” writes Peter Travers in Rolling Stone.

Crude hits highest level in a year on unauthorized trades

(NEWSER) - On Tuesday, the price of oil spiked unexpectedly to its highest level in 2009—a barrel of crude jumped from $71 to $73.50 in just one hour, for no apparent reason. Yesterday the reason became clear: a rogue broker in London with PVM, the world's largest petroleum brokerage, had conducted unauthorized trades that cost the company $10 million, reports the Financial Times. Since then, the cost of oil has eased to $66.5 a barrel, down 10% from Tuesday's peak. More»

OPEC expected to slash production to push up prices

(NEWSER) - Oil prices continue to plunge as demand slackens amid the global economic downturn. Oil has dropped 19% drop this week, the biggest weekly decline in five years, reports Bloomberg. Prices have tumbled 70% since reaching a record $147.27 in July, and some predict prices may dip as low as $25 a barrel. OPEC will announce a cut in output at its next meeting Dec. 17, according to a spokesman. More»