Tuesday March 7, 2:01 pm Eastern Time (Note: this article is ``in progress''; there will likely be an update soon.)

NYMEX crude soars above $34/bbl on supply worries

NEW YORK, March 7 (Reuters) - Crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) soared above $34 a barrel in afternoon trade Tuesday, their highest since the 1990/91 Gulf conflict, as worries over tight supply mounted, traders said.

After hurtling past $33 in the morning, NYMEX crude for April delivery continued to rise in heavy trading, striking $34 at 1:47 p.m. (1847 GMT) and then edging up some more to $34.03.

Those were the highest prices for NYMEX front month crude futures since November 26, 1990, when they peaked at $34.25.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/000307/7s.html

-- - (x@xxxl.com), March 07, 2000

Answers

do i hear $35, going once, going twice....

-- INever (inever@check.com), March 07, 2000.

It could go 35 or even 40 if shorts are squeezed but the longer term options are still in the mid-20s.

Funny but May is 32.10

and Jun is 30.45

(Dec. is about 25.50)

If you're trading this stuff, take a long hard look at the open interest across the various months.

Apr 00 32.57 34.03 32.4 DN 33.8 14:23 - +1.62 32.18 1857 46961

May 00 30.94 32.22 30.85 DN 32.1 14:23 - +1.54 30.56 725 8437 Jun 00 29.5 30.49 28.7 UP 30.45 14:23 - +1.29 29.16 242 62617

-- cpr (buytexas@swbell.net), March 07, 2000.

Anita "S", whose opinion I valued highly last year, told me in NO UNCERTAIN TERMS that gasoline prices would NOT climb to exhorbitant levels.

Your thoughts Anita?

-- Dennis (djolson@pressenter.com), March 07, 2000.

Dennis:

I think you're putting words into my mouth. What I said was "If there are PERCEIVED shortages, the oil companies will take EVERY opportunity to raise prices."

I'll say this again, although I've said it before: Domestic production of oil products was curtailed when they couldn't compete with overseas suppliers. I would [personally] rather pay $3.00/gallon to buy domestically produced gasoline than pay $1.27 to support countries that threaten the U.S.

I've heard that domestic wells are being re-established. If this is true, this temporary price increase will benefit many Americans.

-- Anita (notgiving@anymore.thingee), March 07, 2000.

Sorry Anita, but I don't think I'm putting words in your mouth. We had the oil conversation MANY times, both via the MSNBC board and via private email.

I stand by my statement above. You stated many times that prices would NOT rise to extreme levels. My personal benchmark was $5/bbl, if you recall.

Anyway, that being said, what do you NOW see as the "objective reality" of oil prices, based upon your many years in that industry?

-- Dennis (djolson@pressenter.com), March 07, 2000.

Dennis:

My crystal ball doesn't work any better than yours. I don't recall EVER stating that I had information on how OPEC may raise/decrease production. I DO, however, feel you're overreacting to the oil situation. You may want to look into the following two links:

Historical oil prices, including adjustments for inflation

Questions and Answers on Petroleum

BTW, How are are things in Oregon? Do you like the new job?

-- Anita (notgiving@anymore.com), March 07, 2000.