Talk:Dow plunges as oil prices break records

"...beating the previous day's trading record..."

I note this has been removed, and I think it is down to how some people read it. Does it mean the highest point ever, or the highest point on the previous day?

Our readers are now well-used to oil inching up, and they would likely assume it meant both. For that reason I have not restored this, but would really like to see it back with the extra trivia in. --Brian McNeil / ^talk 22:36, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

The previous day's high was nowhere near $135 and the previous record was in the neighborhood of $138. I will try to find sources. I just know that the info CNN listed was incorrect. (I have been trading crude oil for almost 15 years). But I will find the correct statistics. Cheers, --SVTCobra 23:15, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for digging up some things but, as you say, you've been trading the stuff, how you have put this across is written for people in the know. What is "July Contract", is it the same as "July expiration"? --Brian McNeil / ^talk 23:41, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

Almost weird but I have been staring at the chart for most of today, and it seems that perhaps we did exceed the highs by nearly $4, anyway the previous record was not yesterday. Well, it's kinda hard to find the info now without my quote machines from work. To answer your question, yes, NYMEX prices are all futures contracts and there is one for each month. Crude is a "deliverable" contract meaning that when the contract expires (near the end of month before said month) seller (short) of the contract is obligated to deliver 1000 barrels of oil to the the owner (long) of the contract at the price they traded at. These people do not need to know eachother and the exchange acts as a go-between, guaranteeing that the parties are for real. The prices of futures have become what the news media uses to discuss the price of oil. In the real world prices of oil vary a great deal because not all oil is created equal. Dubai oil is actually quite different from North Sea oil, which is different from Texas oil. These different grades trade at different prices because differences in how they are refined and what they yield. The NYMEX contract which is often called West Texas Intermediary or Light Sweet Crude Oil has become the standard guage for prices (for the media). A close second is the IntercontinentalExchange (they bought out the IPE) and there people trade Brent Crude Oil contracts. Currently the prices are very close to each other, but I have seen them differ by at least $5 per barrel. Anyway, I will try to clarify in the article. --SVTCobra 00:02, 7 June 2008 (UTC)

I've often seen Brent Light Crude mentioned in BBC reports, there is an opportunity in this ongoing coverage to educate people about how all these things work. --Brian McNeil / ^talk 00:16, 7 June 2008 (UTC)

What I do for a living is trade futures contracts and I don't want to mislead people to think I am an oil trader, per se. These things I said above about oil is close to all I know. I trade futures in everything that is listed on an exchange. That means I have a great deal of knowledge about futures, and some knowledge as to how that pertains to currencies, government bonds, stocks, corn, soybeans, oil, natural gas, cotton, coffee, cocoa, interest rates, and even orange juice (as portrayed in the movie Trading Places. I am not a significant expert on oil in particular or any of the specific things that I trade. I usually steer clear of market news. Cheers, --SVTCobra 00:34, 7 June 2008 (UTC)