We'd be far less vulnerable if we spent 1% of what we spend on oil on developing the non-oil dependent car. R&D in this sector is far too slow either from the point of view of lessening our dependence on oil, or for the environmental reasons we all know about. I can't understand why governments allow more cars to be produced. It seems so self-destructive.

Alice, Hove,

The price of oil is very cheap;all the americans do to pay for a barrel of oil is to run a small piece of paper under a printing press where they produce an IOU that is accepted.
Foreign countries do not want American companies to search for oil on their sovereign land as they are afraid that the American companies will prosper while their natural resourses and enviroment are plundered with little benefit to the general population. America went to war in Iraq to steal the Iraqi oil; when America leaves Iraq the oil which was owned by the Iraqi's will be owned by the Americans.

Hortense vaughan, sydney, australia

I believe a major reason for oil at record price levels is the significantly lower value of the dollar. If you owned an oil well and forced to sell the oil in dollars, then you would naturally want the price to go up significantly to compensate.
The dollar was Eur 0.92630 5 years ago, today it stands at Eur 0.67470

John, Huntingdon, England

I believe a major reason for oil at record price levels is the significantly lower value of the dollar. If you owned an oil well and forced to sell the oil in dollars, then you would naturally want the price to go up significantly to compensate.
The dollar was Eur 0.92630 5 years ago, today it stands at Eur 0.67470

John, Huntingdon, England

I believe a major reason for oil at record price levels is the significantly lower value of the dollar. If you owned an oil well and forced to sell the oil in dollars, then you would naturally want the price to go up significantly to compensate.
The dollar was Eur 0.92630 5 years ago, today it stands at Eur 0.67470

John, Huntingdon, England

A friend in need is a pest?

Better is the great poet John Cooper Clark - "A friend in need is a friend in debt; I don't want to be nice"

Geoff, Moscow

Geoff SAUNDERS, Moscow, Russia

The oil price is rising because the producers want it to rise. Without a higher price reducing decline from existing fields and developing new ones isn't going to happen.

DickW, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Im sorry to say Mr Stelzer oil will not be coming down ever,we are at ,or near to peek production and the way China and india are producing car the demand is only going north with or without a US recesion. oil production is at about 86 million barrels a day and has been for the last 3 years read Matthew Symonds peek oil to learn the truth about things. I think oil will be 130 to 150 by years end and around 300 in three years time ouch

Garry Webster, Norwich,

"Most important of all, Opec, which accounts for about 40% of world output, refuses to lift its production ceiling...Irwin Stelzer"

You seem to be very West-centric in your view here Irwin.

To the Saudis, oil is essential for the development of their country, depending as they do on the revenue it raises.

Yet, you suggest, the minute the West - through their own greed - run into some temporary credit difficulties, the Saudis should raise production levels, lowering prices, just to help the West.

You conveniently skip over the fact the Saudis (and other oil producers) will be selling their future cheaply.

We, and I definitely include the UK in this, got ourselves into this mess because of our greed for the next house/car/TV/holiday etc, well beyond our spending power.

Therefore we should take the pain of getting ourselves out of it, without expecting the Saudis to sell out their future prosperity.

Clive, Surrey,

If you look back over the period since the last recession in the early 1990s, you will see some pretty spectacular events, each this massive economic impacts. They include the westernisation of eastern Europe, two massive wars (that are still going on), continued Middle Eastern turmoil and the development of China and India.

The long term effects of each were unknown when they arose but in the short to medium term there would be continuous demand for almost everything so the merry-go-round continued uninterrupted.

Now each of these events seems to be stabilising to differing degrees and their longer term impacts can be better assessed. There is therefore an opportunity for strategic analysis. The result is increased pessimism and that is affecting the markets.

Simultaneously we see a decrease in popularity of and confidence in the political leadership of several major nations.

These two considerations combine to shift sentiment towards pessimism and markets then follow.

David Williams, Eastnor, England

"The Saudis seem to have adopted the “a friend in need is a pest” attitude."

The Saudis should realise that with friends like Stelzer and his war mongering buddies at the hudson Institute, who needs enemies.

Samuel, Glasgow,

Well. there's an inverse relationship tween price of oil and market value -
i agree with Boone Pickens that there's something shifty goin down re: oil and am curious as to how that is working. It's much tighter integrated with governmental funding obviously then say the ordinary inflation of a particular stock valuation - as in the net boom.

That said I'm more inclined to see ease of oil price fixing resulting from insecure national economics then the other way around.

In auditioning musicians a pro can suss someone in a matter or moments & likewise the next pres will get a swift shot across the bow which will determine the relative powers for four years - eg jfk and US steel -- in the interim the dance goes on and the code remains to be cracked

glenn schaefer, holbrook, USA

Could not the Saudi'a respond "Tell your oil Companies to share the wealth or lower their profit by selling cheaper to the American people; make only a million a day instead of what they are making now.reportedly a billion a week". A friend in need must tighten his belt or his pants will drop.

Andy O'Donnell, Sacramento, CA .USA