The price of oil has climbed slightly this week with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) hitting an intra-week high of $95.17 for October delivery today (Friday).
Despite this week's price hike, WTI prices are still well below the three-year high of $105 a barrel they hit in June.
Over the past several months, ISIS forces in Iraq have been selling oil from captured refineries on the black market in order to fund their terrorist activities and wreak havoc on the region.
Despite the crisis in Iraq, crude oil prices are down this month near $93 per barrel.
But Money Morning's Global Energy Strategist Dr. Kent Moors says a "great danger" in the region could send crude oil prices much higher.
WTI oil prices were down this morning (Wednesday) to a low of $97.06 for September contracts, after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reduced its 2014 price forecast yesterday.
Citing increased oil production in the United States, the EIA dropped its 2014 forecast for WTI oil prices to $100.45 per barrel. In July, the EIA had projected a price of $100.98 per barrel.
But according to Money Morning's Global Energy Strategist Dr. Kent Moors, oil prices will be heading much higher in the long-term.
Even if the short-term outlook on oil prices remains favorable…
Two events this week indicate the situation in two global hotspots is getting worse, and both will have a significant impact on crude oil prices.
First, the Islamic State, the terrorist group formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, attacked the Mosul Dam. Second, the mayor of Kiev in Ukraine turned off the hot water.
Neither is a good sign, and each promises to shake up oil prices…
WTI crude oil prices settled back down below $100 per barrel this week, but according to Money Morning's Global Energy Strategist Dr. Kent Moors, oil prices may not stay that low for very long.
In fact, he sees a potential scenario where crude oil prices double from where they are right now…
Today I want to tell you a story about energy - especially crude oil.
It involves my run in with the steak bandit...
Just stay with me here...
It begins last Saturday. On a trip to the local supermarket, I saw something you just don't see every day.
You see, I always do the grocery run. It is one of several clauses that have appeared over time in my marriage contract (no doubt about it, this is one document you need to read before signing!).
As I left the store, a crowd had formed outside. There were police all around and the parking lot had been sealed shut.
It turns out a fellow had shoved some steaks down his pants and made a dash for it.
By the time all of us had stretched our necks to see what was going on, the suspect was just sitting... in a car that wouldn't start... with the doors locked... and the windows up... in 90-degree heat.
All in all, he couldn't have been having a very good day.
Maybe he was that hungry. Or maybe he forgot his wallet at home and was late for a party. I'm not sure.
Either way, he was bound for the Allegheny County Jail.
(By the way, the jail is the impressive newer-looking building by the Monongahela River in downtown Pittsburgh. You can't miss it. It looks like an upscale Holiday Inn.)
But I digress; back to the steaks... Full Story
Today I want to tell you a story about the steak bandit. Just stay with me here. This is a story about energy - especially crude oil.
Last Saturday at the grocery store, a fellow shoved some steaks down his pants and made a dash for it. Aside from a possible commentary on the plight of some people in the current economy, the episode with the "steak bandit" brought back a memory, along with a broader implication for the energy sector.
Here's the memory and how it relates to energy...
WTI crude oil prices for September delivery were down $1 today (Tuesday) to $100.67 per barrel, while Brent crude dropped $0.17 to $107.39 per barrel, despite the fact that geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Russia remain.
Oil prices hit two-week highs last week as tensions in the Ukraine and the Middle East intensified.
A bevy of geopolitical issues sent WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude oil prices higher late Thursday, with prices peaking at $103.94 per barrel for August delivery just before 7:00 p.m. Today, crude oil prices have settled back down below $103 per barrel this morning.
Crude oil prices may be back down today, but they're still up nearly 15% from their $89.74 low in January.
For many years, industry experts have been sounding the alarm that America, and the world, are about to run out of oil.
Every expert who's predicted "the end of oil" has been wrong in the past. But with global energy consumption at an all-time high, and much of the world's economy dependent on oil, the question is: Are we running out of oil?
Here's everything you need to know about today's oil market...
WTI crude oil prices for delivery in August were down slightly yesterday (Tuesday) to $103.43 a barrel, which was a $0.10 drop from Monday. And while crude oil prices are down from 52-week highs, they're still at inflated levels because of the crisis in Iraq.
But that doesn’t mean investors can’t profit. Money Morning’s Dr. Kent Moors has found oil stocks to buy now that are profiting from foreign turmoil.
In fact, the longer prices stay high, the better they will do…
In August, the U.S. government will begin allowing the exportation of crude oil for the first time in 40 years.
That has many American consumers wondering what will happen to crude oil prices now that the United States is exporting oil.
Money Morning's Global Energy Strategist Dr. Kent Moors appeared on CCTV Friday and discussed the benefits of U.S. oil exportation, and what effect oil exports will have on consumers and oil prices.
See what impact U.S. oil exports could have on jobs, revenue, and local taxes.
After over four decades, it looks like America is getting back into the oil export business again.
For the first time since the 1970s, Washington has opened the door to sending more U.S. crude oil abroad.
And this change in policy promises to open up new opportunities for investors...
Crude oil futures ticked a tad lower Thursday as investors digested the supply and export outlook in Iraq, as well as demand prospects from the United States - but the dips are likely temporary.
As Money Morning Global Energy Strategist Dr. Kent Moors recently explained, prices further out on the futures curve are rising much more quickly than anticipated as worries mount over global supply and demand.
Here’s what’s weighing crude oil prices down today… at least for now.
Futures prices for both crude and gasoline were down yesterday. Unfortunately, that barely tells the real story.
Thanks to the growing Sunni insurrection and the rapid unraveling of the Shiite government in Baghdad, you can bet that prices for both crude and gasoline will be making the headlines over the next two months.
As the next-month rates (August 2014) fell in yesterday's trade, oil prices as far out as December 2018 began to spike.
