[Anyone] President George Bush didn't do anything about oil prices

[totem at laplaza.org]

Mike in Taos <mikeintaos at hotmail.com> said:

> 
> 
> VIENNA, Austria AP) - Oil prices plummeted Tuesday, falling briefly below $92 a barrel reflecting 
the steady leadership of President George Bush who single handily has lowered gas by over $55 a 
barrel since July.
> 
> Crude has fallen about $55 - or 37 percent - from its all-time trading record of $147.27 reached 
July 11.
> 
> In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures fell more 5 cents to $2.7391 a gallon, while gasoline 
prices dropped by over 6 pennies to $2.4886 a gallon. Natural gas for October delivery fell by more 
than 2 cents to $7.395 per 1,000 cubic feet.
> 
> In London, October Brent crude fell $2.95 to $91.29 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
> _________________________________________________________________

And here's the REAL story (badly misqouted above):
(http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OIL_PRICES?
SITE=IACED&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT)

Oil prices sink below $92 on Wall Street tumult

By STEVENSON JACOBS 
AP Business Writer



	Producers Tap Old Wells in Search of Oil
NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices extended their retreat Tuesday, shedding $10 a barrel in a violent, two-
day slide as tumult on Wall Street dims hopes for a swift economic recovery and signals another drop 
in U.S. energy demand.

Crude, which shot up near $150 a barrel only two months ago, is now down 8 percent for the year.

Meanwhile, gas prices edged higher at the pump, topping $3.85 a gallon amid the aftermath of 
Hurricane Ike. However, given crude's continuing slide, retail gas was expected to turn lower within a 
few weeks.

As uncertainty grips Wall Street, evidence mounted that U.S. consumers and businesses were bracing 
for a protracted economic downturn that should guarantee more of the money-saving energy 
conservation measures of the past year: Americans will cut back on driving, airlines will keep fewer 
planes in the air and U.S. manufacturers will be shipping fewer products. That in turn was expected 
to keep crude prices down.

"The economic slowdown is completely unavoidable now and people will be driving less, trucking 
less and buying less," said James Cordier, president of Tampa, Fla.-based trading firms Liberty 
Trading Group and OptionSellers.com. "Energy consumption will fall dramatically."

Light, sweet crude for October delivery fell $4.56 to settle at $91.15 a barrel on the New York 
Mercantile Exchange, after earlier dipping to $90.51, its lowest level since Feb. 8. On Monday, prices 
closed below $100 for the first time in six months, shedding more than $5 and wiping out all of oil's 
gains for the year.

Crude has fallen about $55 - or 37 percent - since shooting above $147 on July 11.

In London, November Brent crude fell $5.02 to settle at $89.22 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange, 
after earlier dipping to $88.90.

Oil's steep correction comes as traders were riveted by rapidly unfolding events on Wall Street. Fears 
rose Tuesday about the health of insurance giant American International Group Inc. after several 
ratings agencies reduced their ratings on the company. That amplified worries of more turmoil after 
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch & Co. was bought by Bank of 
America Corp. in a rush sale intended to save the troubled company.

Analysts say another big round of commodities liquidation may be in the offing if Lehman, a major 
player in commodities, moves to unwind its positions to raise capital. Others big banks, institutional 
investors and hedge funds may follow suit on worries that the downward momentum on oil and 
other commodities may have reached a tipping point where prices will not rebound.

"It's like a snowball effect," said Cordier. "The unwinding of all this debt is getting oil prices to go to 
these levels much quicker than people thought possible."

Also pressuring crude prices was a decision Tuesday by the Federal Reserve to hold interest rates 
steady. Investors viewed the move as another drag on oil; lower interest rates would likely have 
depressed the dollar, potentially sending the price of oil and other commodities higher if investors 
had shifted money into hard assets to hedge against inflation.

But analysts said the biggest weight on oil prices was the slumping economy and continuing demand 
destruction. On Tuesday, computer maker Dell Inc. said it sees "further softening" in demand for 
information technology products around the world. That means the company will likely be shipping 
less products around the globe, further reducing demand for fuel.

Meanwhile, pump prices edged higher Tuesday due to Gulf Coast refinery shutdowns after Hurricane 
Ike slammed into Texas over the weekend. A gallon of regular jumped more than a penny overnight 
to a new national average of $3.854, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service 
and Wright Express. Prices topped $4 a gallon in parts of Alabama, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Virtually all oil production in the Gulf and about 84 percent of natural gas output remained shut 
down after the passage of Ike and Hurricane Gustav last month, according to the U.S. Minerals 
Management Service.

Crude's decline has come despite ongoing tensions with Russia, militant attacks in Nigeria, saber-
rattling by Iran and the loss of 25 percent of U.S. refining capacity due to Ike - bullish events that 
likely would have sent prices skyrocketing only months ago.

"I guess the market was telling us it never belonged at the $100 level in the first place and got there 
on a lot of hype," said Peter Beutel, energy analyst at Cameron Hanover, New Canaan, Conn.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures fell 7.15 cents to settle at $2.7197 a gallon, while 
gasoline prices dropped 16.06 cents to settle at $2.4008 a gallon. Natural gas for October delivery 
fell 9.5 cents to settle at $7.279 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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