Oil Prices

[wu_shizzle]

Lack of nuclear plants would sure seem to make us more reliant on the global oil markets, would it not?

I generally have no affection for the cheese-eating, surrender-monkey French, but those pansies sure love them some nuclear power.

It would be a great day to hear of a nuke plant being planned in KS.

[Play Angry]

Oil settles under $39 for the first time since February 2009 today, and currently sits at $37.97. Rough day for everyone though unless you were hiding in treasuries.

[Aargh]

Why is it that I have this feeling that the State borrowing $1 billion for the pension fund (based on the assumption that it could be invested for a higher return than the interest expense) may have some timing issues?

[Play Angry]

Oil looks determined to test new multi-year lows. Spot currently at $38.33.

Natural gas is wicked cheap at ~$2.

[shocka khan]

Why is it that I have this feeling that the State borrowing $1 billion for the pension fund (based on the assumption that it could be invested for a higher return than the interest expense) may have some timing issues?

Sounds like he's out Bobby Jindal-ing Bobby Jindal. Bobby raided the roads fund to pay for the state police in Louisiana for 5 years. They still have a $500 million budget deficit. You guys are in the same kind of a leaky boat (just not quite as bad yet).

When the rating agencies are threatening to cut your credit rating, there's nothing better than a sweetheart loan from the pension fund to get a loan on better terms. You know, the whole "We owe the money to ourselves" thing.

Pretty interesting that he's pulling that kind of financial engineering. He will never admit he cut taxes too much. He'll be like Bobby Jindal and Nicholas Maduro, he'll stubbornly stick to the road he's hewed until he gets his butt handed back to him.

The opposition in Venezuela elected a supermajority in the legislature yesterday. I don't think anything like that will happen in Kansas, but I also don't think that Browntrack will be around much more than this term.

[shocka khan]

I can't believe that oil keeps dropping. Here in Houston, I have had several aquaintences lose their jobs due to the low oil prices. I look at the young people being thrown out of work and I feel sorry for them. The word on the street is that there will be big layoffs industry-wide after the first of the year. Tens of thousands of jobs.

I tried several times to get out of the industry I worked in and get into the petrochemical/oil industry. Sure glad I didn't do that now.

[Play Angry]

August support tested and failed to hold, spot now at $36.56.

Will be interesting to see how low this thing goes. Inflation-adjusted low in the previous bust cycle (December 1998) was $12.56 in 2015 dollars. Seems hard to imagine us threatening that, but I also don't have confidence that $30 is the cannot-go-lower-than-this barrier that some analysts are touting it to be.

[Play Angry]

Oil extending its slump overnight, now down to $33.21.

[Kung Wu]

Oil extending its slump overnight, now down to $33.21.

Is there a long term chart for this data?

[ShockBand]

Here is a 10 year chart for WTI Spot.

[ShockBand]

The fact that Saudi Arabia and Iran have severed diplomatic ties and there has been no spike in prices is very telling about how much supply is out there. A few years ago a camel farting would have caused prices to rise.

[Play Angry]

Is there a long term chart for this data?

IMO it is helpful to look at a chart that goes back at least 50 years and shows nominal and inflation-adjusted prices. This one from April 2015 is okay - you just have to visualize the drop extending from $50 down to $30.

Although the price is low right now, this range was pretty much the norm (in 2016 dollars) for the periods of 1946-73 and 1986-2004 as the chart reflects.

[ShockBand]

IMO it is helpful to look at a chart that goes back at least 50 years and shows nominal and inflation-adjusted prices. This one from April 2015 is okay - you just have to visualize the drop extending from $50 down to $30.

Although the price is low right now, this range was pretty much the norm (in 2016 dollars) for the periods of 1946-73 and 1986-2004 as the chart reflects.

I did find one that went farther back and had inflation adjusted, but they also wanted $$$ to post their charts. Thanks for the link to the one you found.

[Kung Wu]

Oil extending its slump overnight, now down to $33.21.

Now $31.41 a barrel.

[ShockBand]

A pundit on Marketplace this evening was speculating that he thinks it may touch $20 a barrel before going back up.