Matt Simmons on Bloomberg News (3/4/08)

[slinfolo]

"Is there anything the government could or should do to effect prices?"

Matt Simmons: "No"

sums it up

[geir44]

"Split it in half and see it (60 $ oil)very quickly....."

Now it is 124.7...!

[geir44]

Ha,ha...

"They blow up..."

[Sentinel4truth]

We're so fucked.

[PeakedEarth]

Yes we are. Buy gold, silver, and freeze dried food. Prepare. This whole thing is coming to an end and quick. Scary time lie ahead.

[jazarstevens]

Gold and silver? try ass wipe and antibiotics, and head for the hills, hope to god you don't get caught in the crossfire...

[UnderseaCaveman]

Today, Oil spiked to $105.97....

We will never see $60/bbl again!

Oil is outperforming Gold, so one can't say that Oil Price is only rising due to inflation... if one argues that Gold rises due to inflation (and all fiats are being devalued)... I calculate Oil rising 4%/year against Gold over the last 8 years!

[okrabben]

the caveman knows it all

[UnderseaCaveman]

well, I've been around a long time :)

[UnderseaCaveman]

Well, I ve been around a long, long time :)

We even had oil back in 100,000BC, we didn't use at any meaning sense!

[Iconoclast421]

I think we could easily see $60 oil again. There are going to be massive gyrations in price, because every time a large number of people drop out of the "energy rat race", it will cause an economic contraction which reduces demand. Temporarily. Until the final collapse occurs, and we are no longer able to assign any meaningful price on oil.

[UnderseaCaveman]

Icono,

I am just inclined to think those "massive gyrations" will occur at higher levels...like swinging from 120 to 210 back to 140...

While economy is already "complaining" about high Oil Prices...we are not feeling utter pain yet...and that's when sacrifices and gyrations (wild) begin. So, I just see it beginning at higher pressures (bifurcations of 2, 3 and 4 periods, before "chaos").

[lisamann]

Agreed! thank you for pointing that out... volatility is the word of the day. Also, speculation IS a problem, but Peak Oil and speculation are not mutually exclusive. I'd also like to point out that while Simmons is a great resource on some dire facts, he is NOT a "man of the people" and not someone I'd rely on for good policy decisions- he seems to think it's a-ok that rural workers in the SE US pay 15 cents a cup... and have to skip meals in exchange.

[FunnyDigestion]

It seems he's just being practical. US oil consumption patterns are a massive anomaly on the world stage and simply can't be maintained in the face of these problems, and any short-term fix will only worsen the long term. Obviously it sucks but we'll have to face the music (as many other countries already are w/ riots and food prices and so on).

[UnderseaCaveman]

Matt Simmons is a Genius