Oil prices plunge as U.S., Europe tap strategic reserves - by Kevin Hall

Oil prices dropped sharply Thursday on news that the United States and Europe will sell 60 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves over the next 30 days, a move experts called an important policy shift that should help restrain volatile energy prices.

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NYT - Europe - A Hard Habit to Break, Even With Gas at $10 a Gallon - Elisabeth Rosenthal

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Europe - A Hard Habit to Break, Even With Gasat $10 a Gallon - Elisabeth Rosenthal

Ten dollars a gallon may seem unthinkable to American drivers still smarting from the spike in gas prices to around $4 a gallon. But that was nearly the price that Marco Annarumi faced recently when filling his Jeep on his way home from work.Gas prices have persuaded some people to drive less. Traffic on the Eurostar train that links London and Paris was up 21 percent in the first three months of 2008. Gas purchases in Italy dropped 10 percent compared with the year before. Sales of gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles have plunged across the continent, just as they have in the United States. But, at least so far, there are few signs of the wholesale shift away from current driving habits that environmental economists contend is needed for European countries to meet emissions control targets. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says meeting the targets is crucial if the world is to prevent the worst effects of global warming.

Market Watch: US Economy Crises - energy costs: Gasoline prices to go up to $ 4.00 per gallon in 2008 - Steve Geisi

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US Economy Crises - energy costs: Gasoline prices to go up to $ 4.00 per gallon in 2008 - Steve Geisi

After a record-smashing year with oil peaking at $99 a barrel in 2007, a triple-digit world of crude oil awaits in the coming year, energy experts say. Trading below $51 a barrel less than 12 months ago, crude prices hit their first in a fusillade of all-time highs in July and never looked back. While some blame the frothy crude market on speculation rather than the simple rules of supply and demand, the only force that managed to slow prices down at all this year was fear of an economic slowdown, as oil fell below $90 a barrel just weeks after hitting a record. But as the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates and moved to inject liquidity into the financial sector, oil prices have been creeping back as 2007 draws to a close. With its price spiking so quickly, the impact of record crude has yet to fully filter through the economy, but that's expected to change next year. Gasoline prices, which have held at about $3 a gallon for much of the year, could rise to about $4 a gallon in the new year, for example. About 54% of a Barclays survey of 150 commodity investors expect the average price of oil over the next five years to top $100.00. Eric Bolling, an independent oil trader at the Nymex, said conditions that led to a record-breaking year will likely persist over the next 12 months at least. "It's a weak dollar, it's a strong global economy, it's China growing quickly at 13%," he said. "It's been a perfect storm for a commodity bull run. That's going to continue to go. There's no signs of its slowing down, by any means." He sees oil ranging from $60 to $120 a barrel next year, with spikes as high as $130 or more in the case of a major hurricane or geopolitical flare-up.