Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Oil accelerates losses as dollar rises vs. rivals. And: Cramer on BloggingStocks: Not buying the oil/dollar story

First up, from MarketWatch:
Crude-oil futures accelerated their losses Tuesday, as the U.S. dollar strengthened against other major currencies, pressuring dollar-denominated oil prices.

Crude oil for September delivery dropped $3.43 to $121.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

On the currency markets, the greenback rose against most of its major rivals, with the dollar index gaining 0.8% to 73.26....MORE

From Blogging Stocks:
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says don't blame the currency, it's all about supply and demand.

The dollar.

How often do we hear that this currency as the culprit of the m.o. of everything that the "sophisticated" types think is happening. It is almost conspiratorial:
  • the Fed raises rates;
  • commodity prices come in because they are a hedge against the weak dollar;
  • oil fluctuates in price because of the dollar;
  • the dollar controls stocks and bonds.
I am not an unsophisticated player....MORE