Oil and Egypt

In the midst of all the turmoil in Egypt, it occurs to us that that one thing which always seem to accompany trouble in the Middle East are volatile oil prices. After trading reached $92 a barrel on Monday, prices dropped a bit this morning in light of news that the crisis in Egypt may not be particularly serious with regard to oil futures.

You don't say?

It appears to us here in the Wayne County Conservative Examiner's Office that oil prices are dictated by little more than fear. A BP crisis in the Gulf of Mexico means that there may be no oil in six or eight weeks, so prices spike. The mere threat of a coup in Nigeria sends the oil traders on a blind frenzy, almost expecting, it would seem, the taps to run dry any minute now. Now that Egypt is in the the throes of what may well be a popular revolution, the reaction of the oil people was to panic. Consequently, prices initially rose.

This despite the fact that Egypt is not a major oil producer and that remarkably little oil each day flows the area, either through a pipeline or the Suez Canal. True, there is always the possibility that the revolt will spread; Jordan is currently reshuffling their government, and Tunisia has already saw its leadership toppled. Nevertheless, when it comes having no real courage, oil traders appear the best at their job.

We would see cheaper oil if the buyers would take a chill pill and a deep breath. We would also see cheaper prices if domestic drilling and drilling in the Arctic were more freely allowed. Then we may not have to care very deeply about developments in the Mideast. Yet that too is stymied by another crowd who play on fear: rabid environmentalists.

What we need in this world is more backbone in the light of phantom dangers. We will never see that so long as the scare mongers drive our economics.