Thursday, May 6, 2010

What really affects oil prices.

Speculation and demand affect oil prices, but since May 2nd (Sunday), we've seen the US dollar - as it strengthens against the euro - massively affect the price of oil (as oil is priced in US Dollars).  Between May 2nd and today, the US has gained 10% on the Euro, while oil prices dropped 11.6%.

Considering that one of BP's offshore platforms was destroyed two weeks ago (and consequently registering a short rise in prices), oil continues to drop as the US Dollar gains, which is quite remarkable.

Of course, traders are no doubt worried that the other countries in the Euro-zone might end up following Greece, or that Greece might in fact plunge Europe back into recession.  That would tend to lower demand, although Europe is hardly a big user of crude oil; the top two users are China and the US.  Still, those worries are on the minds of traders.

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