Oil prices remained near record highs above $145 a barrel in Asia after Saudi Arabia's oil minister suggested his country doesn't plan to boost production.
Light, sweet crude for August delivery was up 23 cents at $145.52 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, midafternoon in Singapore. Crude futures rose to $145.85, a record high, in New York on Thursday before settling at a record finish of $145.29 a barrel.

via chron.com

Oil soared to a record above $144 a barrel yesterday in Asia, fueled by concerns over a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. stockpiles and the threat of conflict with Iran. Early afternoon in Singapore, light, sweet crude for August delivery was up 78 cents at $144.35 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier in the session, it rose as high as $144.57 a barrel, a record.

via turkishdailynews.com.tr

The worst news Wednesday regarding oil wasn't its record high close of $143.57 per barrel. It was the dollar. "There may be another record Thursday, and another Monday, and so on," energy trader Jim Dietz told BloggingStocks Wednesday. The reason? Concern that the already weak dollar will fall further, Dietz said. The European Central Bank meets Thursday to vote on interest rates.

via bloggingstocks.com

Oil soared to a record above $144 a barrel Thursday in Asia, fueled by concerns over a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. stockpiles and the threat of conflict with Iran. Expectations that the European Central Bank will raise interest rates later Thursday was expected to weaken the U.S. dollar and drive oil prices even higher, as investors turn to commodities as a hedge against a falling greenback.

via businessweek.com

World oil traded higher in Asia near record levels yesterday after OPEC's president talked of uncertainty surrounding future investment in energy facilities. In afternoon trade, New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for August delivery, was $1.33 higher at $142.30 a barrel from a record close of $140.97 Tuesday at the New York Mercantile Exchange.

via turkishdailynews.com.tr

Gold consolidated near $940 per ounce on Wednesday, following strong gains in the previous session, with record oil prices and volatility in the dollar continuing to support precious metals during the ongoing economic turmoil. At 9:53 a.m., spot gold was trading at $938.60 per ounce against $943.00 per ounce in late New York trade on Tuesday. Gold on Tuesday rose by more than $15, at one point touching $945.83, its highest price since mid-April.

via forbes.com

Oil supplies will remain tight despite record prices that have reduced demand, according to the International Energy Agency, and its executive director said Tuesday that the world is in the grip of its third "oil shock."
Downsizing its estimate of how much oil will reach the market, the IEA predicted supply will exceed projected demand only by 2 million barrels a day -- a thin cushion.
The IEA is the energy watchdog for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a grouping of the world's most industrialized countries.

via businessweek.com

A few years back, when "subprime" generally referred to beef, economists used to congratulate themselves on their progress since the 1970s. Central banks had learned to tame inflation. Politicians had learned to appreciate the folly of price controls. Thanks to the economics profession, policy-makers had grown wiser.

via courant.com

What the fundamentals couldn't help with, the charts did.... on selling. If you don't want to blame the charts, you could always point to Goldman Sachs downgrades and a myriad of everything else. The DJIA and S&P 500 Index broke early-year support levels. We even saw oil cross above $140.00 per barrel in electronic trading. Thankfully, there's no speculation driving up oil, because the speculators buying say they aren't driving up prices.

via bloggingstocks.com

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday proposed updated rules for energy companies that will require them to provide more detailed information to investors when reporting their oil and gas reserves.
Reserves are an oil company's most valuable asset and a critical indicator of its long-term financial prospects. Any reduction in their estimated size is a concern for investors.

via businessweek.com

Soaring world oil prices will drive the cost of gasoline in the U.S. into the stratosphere over the next two years, forcing many Americans off the road and drastically altering the driving habits of millions more, according to a report released Thursday by CIBC World Markets. The report, prepared by economists Jeff Rubin and Benjamin Tal, predicts that the price for West Texas Intermediate will rise to $150 per barrel next year and to $200 in 2010.

via mortgagenewsdaily.com

A Hong Kong-based supply chain hopes to cooperate with Turkish manufacturers to lower textile and apparel production costs by moving more manufacturing facilities to Turkey's eastern and southeastern regions. Despite high production costs, Turkey and its neighbors remain important for Li & Fung in terms of production for Europe, said William Fung, one of the owners of the supply chain, which works with world-renowned brands such as Wal-Mart, Karstadt, Esprit and Armani, and boasts a $12 billion turnover.

via turkishdailynews.com.tr

The Turkish Treasury may resort to cash reserves to help pay a record $36 billion of domestic debt due in the next two months as its borrowing costs soar. The Treasury is considering using some of the YTL 20 billion ($16.5 billion) of reserves it has on deposit at the Central Bank to pay the debt, according to Ankara-based government officials who declined to be identified, citing departmental rules on anonymity.

via turkishdailynews.com.tr

Gold rose 1.5 percent in Europe on Thursday, supported by a softer dollar after the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to leave interest rates unchanged, and as traders scaled back expectations for further rate rises.
Gold rose to $893.90/894.90 an ounce at 0959 GMT from $879.60/880.60 an ounce late in New York on Wednesday, when it dropped to its lowest level in a week -- $873.50 -- due to weaker oil prices.

via africa.reuters.com

The dollar rose slightly against the euro Thursday, picking up some ground after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it would leave interest rates unchanged for the time being and the European Central Bank again hinted that a rate increase is possible as early as its next meeting. The 15-nation euro bought $1.5646 in morning European trading, down from $1.5667 in late New York trading Wednesday. The British pound fell slightly to $1.9720 from $1.9727 on Wednesday, while the dollar edged up to buy 108.09 Japanese yen from 107.93 yen the night before.

via chron.com

The global economy would collapse if oil hit $200 a barrel, said the top energy analyst at Germany's largest bank. �Two-hundred dollar oil would break the back of the global economy,� Deutsche Bank's Chief Energy Economist Adam Sieminski said in an interview yesterday in Tokyo. �Next step after $200 would be global recession and bad news for everybody.�

via turkishdailynews.com.tr

The dollar was little changed against the euro and the yen before the Federal Reserve ends a two-day meeting at which policy makers will probably keep interest rates unchanged, ending a cycle of seven reductions. The U.S. currency was also little changed after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said inflation pressures in the euro area have increased. The dollar has gained 0.5 percent since Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke vowed June 9 to ``strongly resist'' a leap in inflation expectations.

via bloomberg.com

Gold was steady in Europe on Monday, in line with the dollar and oil, as traders awaited a decision by the Federal Reserve on interest rates and its accompanying statement on future monetary policy. The U.S. central bank is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at 2 percent. However, if it fails to adopt a widely expected hawkish tone in its statement, the dollar could suffer, buoying gold.

via forbes.com

Expectations of diminishing U.S. oil supplies and concerns about high fuel costs lessening demand in America kept prices within a narrow band Wednesday, with crude up only slightly over previous closing levels.
"The concerns about demand destruction are real — in particular in the U.S.," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. "The market is holding its breath, waiting for the U.S. inventory report."

via chron.com

OPEC said Tuesday it won't match member Saudi Arabia's 200,000 barrel per day production boost, because in the cartel's estimation there's no need to increase output, The Associated Press reported Tuesday. OPEC President Chakib Khelil said there's no need to increase supply, citing factors outside of OPEC's control, including the weak U.S. dollar and U.S. pressure on Iran, for high oil prices. Khelil also blamed the U.S. mortgage crisis and speculators for driving oil prices higher.

via bloggingstocks.com

Piedmont Mining Company, Inc. (OTC BB: PIED) today announced that it has signed an 'Exploration Agreement with Option to Form Joint Venture' with Carlin Gold US Inc. ('Carlin'), the wholly owned subsidiary of Carlin Gold Corporation (TSXV: CGD), on its Willow Creek Gold property in Elko County, Nevada. This property consists of 480 acres of private fee land plus 158 lode claims, for a total of almost 6 square miles along the western range front of the Snake Mountains and about 30 air miles north-northwest of the town of Wells.

via foxbusiness.com