Fleet Fuel Cards

The continued or sustained rise of oil prices in global markets make it imperative to use energy supply sources like oil very wisely and efficiently. Everybody knows that oil is a non-renewable energy and the world had reached “peak oil” already, that point in oil production when every oil well starts to produce less and less. Oil prices are skyrocketing and countries that used to provide fuel subsidies are slowly withdrawing them in efforts to prod their citizens to use energy more efficiently, look for other alternative energy sources (preferably renewable energy) and to conserve more. Fleet fuel cards are very useful when a business has a number of motor vehicles that use gasoline extensively. Fleet cards also offer other benefits such as lower maintainance costs for their fleet.

Fleet Fuel

http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/16/news/economy/oil_speculator/index.htm?postversion=2008051615
CNN News gave the side effects that some big-money speculative investors have on the oil futures markets such as big university endowment funds, the large pension funds (private and public), insurance firms and hedge funds. These funds in search of higher returns also perhaps unwittingly drove oil prices much higher, perhaps by as much as 50% but they could be in for a fall as demand is now starting to slacken. But most of these funds are hedged also so they would not be badly hurt by falling prices.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/17/news/economy/oil_trading/index.htm?postversion=2008061714
A related article about the effects of excessive oil speculation and how much of that speculative activity went into the actual price of oil versus the real global demand and supply situation. The report estimates that as much as 30% to 50% of the current oil price is a “speculative premium” and minus that, is the actual intrinsic value of oil.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/29/AR2008052903627.html
The above site talks about the possible manipulation by oil futures traders to increase the price of oil. Much of the trade in oil futures is being done away from the eyes of the U.S. regulatory body and conducted in near absolute secrecy. The trades are being done in London (to move away from U.S. regulations by CFTC) although its head office is in Atlanta. The InterContinental Exchange or ICE is where up to 30% of oil futures are traded which was set up initially by investment firm Goldman Sachs. The U.S. oversight agency CFTC now wants to limit certain trades based on margins.