More traders are placing bets on $100 crude oil.

[TexasHusker]

Looks like traders are increasingly bullish on rising oil prices, with a lot of activity in December 22 $100 call options. In other words, buyers of these contracts are paying for the right to purchase oil at $100 per barrel in December 2022. We are at around $70 per barrel as of yesterday. A rise to $100 over the next 18 months would be another 43 percent. Just like labor costs, rising energy prices are essentially a tax on every good and service that we purchase.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/options...XALAV8Of2YFzAg

[Nutria]

Just like labor costs, rising energy prices are essentially a tax on every good and service that we purchase.

And they're like a VAT tax, since it affects every part of the chain from manufacturer to consumer.

[Nutria]

TexasHusker for those of us who don't subscribe to the WSJ, what -- besides increased post-COVID demand -- does it give as the reasons? Off the top of my head, I can think of Democrat opposition to fracking that reduces supply.

[TexasHusker]

TexasHusker for those of us who don't subscribe to the WSJ, what -- besides increased post-COVID demand -- does it give as the reasons? Off the top of my head, I can think of Democrat opposition to fracking that reduces supply.

1. Demand is rebounding.
2. Political environment. More regulation, less production, possibly far less. Crude inventories falling. OPEC regaining lost control over the game as a result.

OPEC is already well aware of their found-again power and is cutting production to boost prices.

There was a time not long ago, one of the biggest goals in our nation was energy independence. We were demanding it. Had to have it. We worked for decades, and finally made it to the mountain top. Now it seems we are quite content to give it back the rest of the world, so that we can say we are responsible climate change players.

The days of cheap fill-ups at the tank are coming to an end. Increases in energy costs will also flow directly to consumer services and goods.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

You can already see it at the pump. But our gas is very much lower than the rest of the world.