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Oil prices steady near new record levels

Oil prices steady near new record levels

Write: Daniel [2011-05-20]
A sharp decline in the US dollar following a weak report on US economic growth, has taken oil prices to a new high. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April yo-yoed at US$102.60 per barrel. The fresh record prices coincide with the flow of investor money into commodities. The surge in crude oil futures has little to do with market fundamentals now. A price bubble is emerging, and the market faces a risk that crude oil pricing could also collapse as fast as it rose.
As per the US Commerce Department, the US economy expanded at a sluggish 0.6% annual pace in Q4, in a report that left its prior estimate of output growth unrevised. Additionally, concern that OPEC could reduce output has been one of the factors driving prices above 100 dollars this week.