Now, as Paul Harvey would say, the rrrresst of the story.
Despite CNBC, Wall Street and most mainstream analysts' projections for a price collapse, oil has remained strong, even in the face of bearish short-term fundamentals, such as supply data.
Of course, that's what most of these Wall Street types focus on...short-term storage data and such, instead of what is really driving prices.
As I've pointed out in past issues, $60 oil has slowly seeped into the consciousness of the average consumer and is now taken as a fact of life.
The price collapse never materialized.
And now the Peak Oil debate is squarely on the world stage, no longer a far-out doomsday theory.
In fact, it's routine to see an article related to Peak Oil in the press these days. It seems the only folks reluctant to admit the era of Peak Oil are OPEC and the major oil companies.
But if you've been studying the issue for any length of time, you've come to realize we're on the cusp of a major rollover in the oil markets.
Just last week Boone Pickens chimed in:
"Crude oil getting to $150 a barrel isn't outside the realms of possibility."
In an interview with CNBC, Pickens again espoused his theory that oil prices could easily get to $100 a barrel, given the many potential supply disruptions on the horizon.
"I think you'll see $75 before you see $60 again and $100 dollar crude oil, sure it could happen," said Pickens, who flatly states that we're running out of oil.
Pickens pointed to several risk scenarios on the market's radar including further disruptions in oil supply from Nigeria and Iraq and the jitter over Iran's nuclear program. "Take any one of those and pull it off the market for an extended period of time and you could go to $100 quite easily," he said.
As you know, Pickens made a name for himself in the 1980s as a corporate raider, attempting to take control of companies such as Phillips Petroleum.
If you question Boone's views even a little, you might consider that his fund, BP Capital, racked up gains in excess of 700% last year.
In fact, the current issue of Trader Monthly estimates Pickens personally made $1.5 billion last year alone.
And much of that was made based on his Peak Oil view that about 85 million barrels a day is about all the world can supply.
But it's not just oil. As I said, this is a bull market in resources.
Over the past several weeks we've seen prices rise across the board, as silver and gold hit multi-decade highs. In fact, most metals are trading at their upper ranges.
The key in a resource bull market is to get in to quality opportunities early, before big news comes out. That means tiny junior exploration companies and medium-sized firms with large undeveloped resources.
It's the leverage these outfits provide that produce truly astounding returns.
But looking further out, we also must be sure not to sell too soon.
I've seen many millions made in past resource bull markets, and I fully expect that, but the time this one has run its course, we'll experience it again.
When the general public is fully invested in resources, convinced this is the market to be in, we'll see valuations in some of these tiny companies that will blow you away.
And that's when we'll be looking for the exits. But we're not there yet.
In the coming weeks our team will have another early-stage resource company for you.
Until then,
Phantom Trader
Subscribe to