Oil jumps to 9-month high after Iran cuts supply

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**Frazzled**

Evidently gasoline prices popped above $5 in some California markets this weekend.

http://fuelfix.com/blog/2012/02/20/oil-jumps-to-9-month-high-after-iran-cuts-supply/

Oil jumps to 9-month high after Iran cuts supply
Posted on February 20, 2012 at 6:25 am by Associated Press in Crude Oil Prices, Oil
685 | Share4shareE-mail

(Image: Fotolia)
SINGAPORE — Oil prices jumped to a nine-month high near $105 a barrel today in Asia after Iran said it halted crude exports to Britain and France in an escalation of a dispute over the Middle Eastern country’s nuclear program.

Benchmark crude was up $1.50 to $104.74 per barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier in the day, it rose to $105.21, the highest since May. The contract rose 93 cents to settle at $103.24 per barrel in New York on Friday.

Brent crude was up $1.43 at $121.01 per barrel in London.

Iran’s oil ministry said Sunday it stopped crude shipments to British and French companies in an apparent pre-emptive blow against the European Union after the bloc imposed sanctions on Iran’s crucial fuel exports. They include a freeze of the country’s central bank assets and an oil embargo set to begin in July.

Iran’s Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi had warned earlier this month that Tehran could cut off oil exports to “hostile” European nations. The 27-nation EU accounts for about 18 percent of Iran’s oil exports.

The EU sanctions along with other punitive measures imposed by the U.S. are part of Western efforts to derail Iran’s disputed nuclear program, which the West fears is aimed at developing atomic weapons. Iran denies the charges, and says its program is for peaceful purposes.

Oil prices were also sent higher by China’s decision to boost money supply in a bid to spur lending and economic growth. China’s central bank said Saturday it will lower the ratio of funds that banks must hold as reserves, a move that frees tens of billions of dollars.

Oil has jumped from $96 earlier this month amid optimism the global economy may grow more this year than previously expected. J.P. Morgan raised its Brent crude price forecast to as high as $135 from $120.

“Building economic momentum has the potential to pull oil prices higher for the next 12 to 24 months,” J.P. Morgan said in a report.

In other energy trading, heating oil was steady at $3.22 per gallon and gasoline futures rose 1.0 cent to $3.22 per gallon. Natural gas jumped 9.3 cents to $2.66 per 1,000 cubic feet.

**Easy E**

The real question is, how long until someone blames Obama?

**alarmingrick**

I guess you could say, in a way, the Iranians do.

**Vulcan**

Blame Obama? For Iran getting sanctioned by the EU? For Iran cutting exports to France and England?

Oh, yeah, that's right. The Republican leadership is full of wingnuts these days. Reality doesn't mean a thing to them.

**LordofHats**

Vulcan wrote:Oh, yeah, that's right. The Republican leadership is full of wingnuts these days. Reality doesn't mean a thing to them.

Only because it tends not to mean anything to the American public either

**biccat**

Easy E wrote:The real question is, how long until someone blames Obama?

Wait, you don't think that the US freezing Iran's assets had something to do with this?

How do you feel about FlavorAid?

**Easy E**

4 posts in. Longer than I thought.

**biccat**

Easy E wrote:4 posts in. Longer than I thought.

I didn't blame Obama, I asked if you think his actions had anything to do with Iran's threat.

Frankly, I blame Iran, for being donkey caves. I think freezing Iranian assets in the US was a good move.

**Easy E**

My mistake then.

**juraigamer**

So glad the car I drive is 12 years old, gets 32 MPG.

I've been seeing advertisements for some hybrid that gets the same MPG, since when can't people make cars that don't waste gas?

**Joey**

biccat wrote:
Easy E wrote:The real question is, how long until someone blames Obama?

Wait, you don't think that the US freezing Iran's assets had something to do with this?

How do you feel about FlavorAid?

The EU already agreed to embargo Iran, did the USA?

**biccat**

Joey wrote:The EU already agreed to embargo Iran, did the USA?

About 17 years ago.

**Joey**

biccat wrote:
Joey wrote:The EU already agreed to embargo Iran, did the USA?

About 17 years ago.

So how is this anything to do with the USA? It's a dispute between Iran and the EU.

**SilverMK2**

$5 a gallon? My heart weeps for you

When you get to over $10 a gallon then you can come crying to me...

**Frazzled**

SilverMK2 wrote:$5 a gallon? My heart weeps for you

When you get to over $10 a gallon then you can come crying to me...

Its 42 miles one way to work. Thats like longer than your country.

**biccat**

Joey wrote:
biccat wrote:
Joey wrote:The EU already agreed to embargo Iran, did the USA?

About 17 years ago.

So how is this anything to do with the USA? It's a dispute between Iran and the EU.

Well, we think it's a bad thing if Iran gets a nuclear weapon.

Also, while we "embargo" Iranian oil, that just means that the EU buys less from Saudi Arabia and we buy more from Saudi Arabia. It's a global commodity.

SilverMK2 wrote:When you get to over $10 a gallon then you can come crying to me...

Tell your government to stop jacking up the price per liter.

**Ouze**

biccat wrote:
Easy E wrote:4 posts in. Longer than I thought.

I didn't blame Obama, I asked if you think his actions had anything to do with Iran's threat.

Frankly, I blame Iran, for being donkey caves. I think freezing Iranian assets in the US was a good move.

Anyone else reading this as Biccat wholeheartedly embracing Obama' wise policies? I guess Soros got to you, huh? ACORN! ACORN!

**biccat**

Ouze wrote:Anyone else reading this as Biccat wholeheartedly embracing Obama' wise policies? I guess Soros got to you, huh? ACORN! ACORN!

Or as Obama embracing Reagan's principles.

The Koch brothers'* influence runs deep.

* I assume the Koch brothers are still the left's bogeyman

**Kilkrazy**

Frazzled wrote:
SilverMK2 wrote:$5 a gallon? My heart weeps for you

When you get to over $10 a gallon then you can come crying to me...

Its 42 miles one way to work. Thats like longer than your country.

Quit moaning about your commute and live closer to work.

**Easy E**

I will when I can unload my house that was affordable in 2005 when anything closer to work was 3 times as much.

Want to buy a house?

**SilverMK2**

Kilkrazy wrote:
Frazzled wrote:
SilverMK2 wrote:$5 a gallon? My heart weeps for you

When you get to over $10 a gallon then you can come crying to me...

Its 42 miles one way to work. Thats like longer than your country.

Quit moaning about your commute and live closer to work.

Or "write your representative" about getting some better public transport

**juraigamer**

If only there wasn't tons of money going from the pumps, to the businesses that run the pumps, and then to the representatives in the government to keep focus on oil and natural gas, we could have been working to fix this oil dependency long ago, instead of when it's almost too late.

**Frazzled**

Easy E wrote:I will when I can unload my house that was affordable in 2005 when anything closer to work was 3 times as much.

Want to buy a house?

What he said.

**KingCracker**

SilverMK2 wrote:
Kilkrazy wrote:
Frazzled wrote:
SilverMK2 wrote:$5 a gallon? My heart weeps for you

When you get to over $10 a gallon then you can come crying to me...

Its 42 miles one way to work. Thats like longer than your country.

Quit moaning about your commute and live closer to work.

Or "write your representative" about getting some better public transport

The main reason public transportation doesnt work here, is our country is to damn big. I mean, HUGE. For example, England is roughly 50,346 square miles (according to a google search) and my state alone, Michigan, is 58,527 square miles. Thats just 1 state, and its the 11th largest state in the US in square miles. Sooo.......yea, only some of this country (read a small part) can actually use public transportation effectively. The rest, we get to drive a nice, big, expansive area.

**SilverMK2**

KingCracker wrote:The main reason public transportation doesnt work here, is our country is to damn big. I mean, HUGE. For example, England is roughly 50,346 square miles (according to a google search) and my state alone, Michigan, is 58,527 square miles. Thats just 1 state, and its the 11th largest state in the US in square miles. Sooo.......yea, only some of this country (read a small part) can actually use public transportation effectively. The rest, we get to drive a nice, big, expansive area.

It was tongue in cheek

America was pretty much designed around the car - everything is so spread out. Even your towns and cities are sprawling monsters with (generally comparatively) low population densities.

**Frazzled**

SilverMK2 wrote:
KingCracker wrote:The main reason public transportation doesnt work here, is our country is to damn big. I mean, HUGE. For example, England is roughly 50,346 square miles (according to a google search) and my state alone, Michigan, is 58,527 square miles. Thats just 1 state, and its the 11th largest state in the US in square miles. Sooo.......yea, only some of this country (read a small part) can actually use public transportation effectively. The rest, we get to drive a nice, big, expansive area.

It was tongue in cheek

America was pretty much designed around the horse- everything is so spread out. Even your towns and cities are sprawling monsters with (generally comparatively) low population densities.

Corrected your typo.

**SilverMK2**

Frazzled wrote:Corrected your typo.

Are all your towns laid out in grids so it is easier to stage multiple gun duels at once?

**Sonophos**

Frazzled wrote:
SilverMK2 wrote:$5 a gallon? My heart weeps for you

When you get to over $10 a gallon then you can come crying to me...

Its 42 miles one way to work. Thats like longer than your country.

Frazzled made a funny and got me a look from the boss.

**Frazzled**

SilverMK2 wrote:
Frazzled wrote:Corrected your typo.

Are all your towns laid out in grids so it is easier to stage multiple gun duels at once?

Well actually...

no we have something called icehouses, where we have all our manly duels. The women folk don't duel though. They just run you over in the parking lot.

Interestingly, in Texas, between the big cities, there are generally what the Euros would call villages every 20 miles, founded in the 1800s. Coincidentally, thats 20 miles is about the pragmatic distance for a horse and buckboard in a day.

**Sonophos**

Joey wrote:
biccat wrote:
Joey wrote:The EU already agreed to embargo Iran, did the USA?

About 17 years ago.

So how is this anything to do with the USA? It's a dispute between Iran and the EU.

Iran refuses oil to the UK and France they buy elsewhere which means the demand scews for a while as demand from non emargoed sources goes up and the price goes up.