The Oil Drum: Losing our Balance? Some Predictions…

Interesting times, indeed. Oil (NYMEX WTI front month future) closed at record intraday trading high of $78.77 per barrel on August 1st, but has since fallen back to near $70. The markets are clearly shaken, and suddenly people are realizing that the recent explosion of derivatives has created as much hidden rigidity as resiliency in our financial markets (as I wrote about here). Is this the beginning of economic collapse, or just another minor perturbation?
The Oil Drum