Oil's been on fire in the last three days, gaining more than $14 a barrel and nearly $30 in the last three months. That equates to a quick extra 75 cents a gallon at the pumps, folks, if you're counting -- and I know that you are.
There has not been one significant supply shutdown nor has there been any overwhelming increase of demand for finished gasoline or heating oil in that time to explain these monster moves.
Instead, there have only been threats of supply disruptions from weather and Middle East unrest -- and bets being placed on those possibilities, fueled to insane levels of frenzy by commodity-trading advisers, index fund managers, dedicated hedge funds and oil swaps dealers.
The reality is that not one barrel of real oil has been removed from the global supply picture in the last several weeks until today, when it was reported that perhaps a half million barrels of daily supply were lost temporarily from Libya, a shortfall that Saudi Arabia could easily and will easily cover, if it becomes necessary.