How High Will Oil Go?

(Newser) - OPEC ministers are expected to back the biggest reduction in oil production in the history of the cartel when they meet today, Reuters reports. The exporters widely support a cut of 2 million barrels a day. Oil prices neared $43 per barrel yesterday, down over $100 from July. Officals from Saudi Arabia, which heads the cartel, are seeking action expected to boost prices to $75 a barrel. More »

(Newser) - Presidential candidate Bloomberg? Nope. Russia invading the Ukraine? Hardly. Foreign Policy takes a look back at the worst predictions of the year: A stabilized banking system: Shortly after Henry Paulson forecast stability on Wall Street, Citigroup’s stock price dropped 75% and closed below $5 for the first time since 1994. More »

(Newser) - Barack Obama vowed on the campaign trail to slap oil companies with a windfall tax, but, blogs Kevin Drum at Mother Jones, it might've all just been old-fashioned populist bluster that's led to Obama’s first breach of a campaign promise. The American Small Business League has noted, and decried, the proposal’s deletion from Obama’s transition website. But, says one economist, dramatically lower oil prices mean that it “makes sense” to junk the idea. More »

(Newser) - Americans are driving less and burning less fuel, but it could be too soon for conservation fans to celebrate. That dip, and global economic gloom, has sent oil and gas prices spiraling down, Joseph White writes in the Wall Street Journal , depriving the government of taxes it needs for transportation infrastructure—and perhaps sapping consumers’ motivation to buy more fuel-efficient vehicles. More »

(Newser) - Oil prices are down, and they’re likely to stay that way for now, writes Ronald Bailey for Reason . Not only did the recent spike in gas prices drive down demand in the US; it also heightened the effect of domestic and local production. Government mandates, made in response to the surge in oil prices, are likely to curb demand in the US for years. More »

(Newser) - If today’s price of $60 per barrel of oil seems too good to be true, that’s because it is. Oil prices will rebound to $100 a barrel once the economy recovers, and climb toward $200 by 2030, the market’s most comprehensive review predicts. Output is declining at a steep natural rate of 9% while demand grows nearly unabated, the Financial Times explains. More »