Sixty-Eight Dollar Oil

Oil flirted with $69 today before closing at $68.35 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The dispute over Iran's nuclear program is behind this latest runup. Iran, of course, is one of the world's major oil producers.

You thought, after last summer's spike, that the worst was over? Dream on. Markets don't go anywhere in a straight line, so the dip into mid-50s prices in the second half of the year was nothing to take comfort in. With oil supplies tight in perpetuity, the long term outlook is bleak. And guess what: the long term is now.

As I said last August, get used to it.

Copyright (C) 2006 James Michael Brennan, All Rights Reserved