The reason that oil price swings are more extreme than the swings in the stock market is due to the heavy participation in the oil market by speculators, according to Cordier. "This (recent) rally to $75 was extremely speculative," said Cordier. "It was based on green shoots -- it was based on feeling that the economy was going to recover."

http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/02/news/companies/jobs_june/index.htm?postversion=2009070211

The unemployment rate rose for the ninth straight month, climbing to 9.5% from 9.4%, and hitting another 26-year high. Economists had been expecting that the unemployment rate would hit 9.6%.

* Nearly 3.4 million jobs have been lost during the first half of 2009, more than the 3.1 million lost in all of 2008.

teeth53 thot: news such as above * really do not help to boosted oil and stocks

Crude prices fall to $64 a barrel as rising unemployment calls into question the likelihood of an economic recovery. Oil fell more than 4% to $64 a barrel Monday as doubts over a potential rebound in the global economy spurred investor risk aversion.

U.S. crude traded down $2.68 from Thursday's close to settle at $64.05 a barrel Monday. U.S. markets were closed Friday for the Independence Day holiday weekend.

That's the lowest settle price since May 27, when crude ended at $63.45.

Optimism that an economic recovery could bolster demand has helped lift crude off December lows below $33 a barrel. Recent weak economic data -- including a poor U.S. jobs report last week -- has weighed on markets

Click the chart for current oil prices.

"We are moving out of the paralysis phase that followed the collapse of Lehman Brothers and back into a recession phase," said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at Maria Fiorini Ramirez Inc. "I think people have confused that transition with the beginning of a recovery."

The North K is not about to start a war, but to seek better return, just my own personnal thot.

OIL $1.10 -1.65% to US $65.63 per barrel.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/02/markets/markets_weekahead/index.htm?postversion=2009070415 

Stocks, as measured by the S&P 500, rallied 40% between the March 9 lows and the June 11 highs. But in the weeks since, stocks have drifted lower, with the S&P 500 sliding 5% as bets that the economy is close to stabilizing turned to worries that the market jumped the gun.

"We are moving out of the paralysis phase that followed the collapse of Lehman Brothers and back into a recession phase," said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at Maria Fiorini Ramirez Inc. "I think people have confused that transition with the beginning of a recovery."

Friday's much worse than expected June jobs report sent investors heading for the exits in a thinly traded session ahead of the Independence Day holiday weekend.

The next few weeks on Wall St are unlikely to give investors any reason to jump back into stocks. But enough optimism remains in place and enough government money will flood the system - that a bigger selloff can probably be avoided, said Gary Webb, CEO at Webb Financial Grp.

 S&P 500 lost 11.7% in the first quarter and gained it back and then some in the second quarter.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/03/news/economy/oil.reut/index.htm?postversion=2009070308

July 3, 2009: 8:27 AM ET. Oil prices fell to less then $67 

Oil prices have doubled from a low of $32.40 a barrel in December last year and surged over 42% in the last quarter - the largest quarterly gain since 1990 - partly on hopes of economic recovery.

Latest economic data is suggesting that a global recovery will be choppy this year, if it occurs at all. Economists have warned that surging unemployment would be one of the key threats to a sustainable recovery.

JP Morgan said in a report on Friday that it expects oil prices to correct from the recent rally to about $60 a barrel or lower, amid demand weakness. Analysts who use past price moves to predict price direction see a similar prospect.

"Risks are shifting for a downside correction toward $60 in the weeks ahead before the larger bull trend resumes," Barclays Capital technical analysts said. 

From July 3 to Dec. 19, the S&P 500 fell 30%. But in the same period, oil prices sank 77%.

The reason that oil price swings are more extreme than the swings in the stock market is due to the heavy participation in the oil market by speculators, according to Cordier. "This (recent) rally to $75 was extremely speculative," said Cordier. "It was based on green shoots -- it was based on feeling that the economy was going to recover."

On Thursday, it settled at $66.73. On Friday, the government reported that the unemployment rate increased to 9.5% in June 09.

I am puzzle ?? oil price jump 10 buck to 44 in one week.  But we have been hearing that traders are taking delivery of the futures, taking the real crude and store it up !!!!

They store to the extend that ALL the storage facilities on this planet is FULL !!!  Yes, not more space to store.  And they are renting supertanker to do the job.  The takeup rate of supertanker has been up from 6 to 27 tankers in the last 3~6mths. You can probably do your IPPT 2.4km run on this tanker.....it is that BIG!!

We are flooded with crude......are they trying to pump and dump again ???

VIENNA - Dismal global economic news dragged oil prices close to $37 Tuesday, with rising supplies and inventories offsetting expectations of further OPEC production cuts. Prices have fallen 75 percent since peaking at $147.27 in July as a credit crisis in the U.S. sub-prime mortgage sector has mushroomed into the worst global economic downturn in decades.

U.S. crude inventories have soared in recent weeks, reflecting a pull back in spending despite a drop in gasoline prices.

Poor economic data from Japan, the world's second-biggest economy, further discouraged investors. It said Monday its economy shrank 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter, the worst performance since 1974.

"The economic and inventory data paint a bleak picture for oil demand,

"If prices are in the $30s going into the next OPEC meeting, we may see further cuts," Shum said.

In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures rose 1 cent to $1.21 a gallon. Heating oil fell 4 cents to $1.26 a gallon, while natural gas for March delivery dropped 16 cents to $4.29 per 1,000 cubic feet.