Oil Prices

[sgd]

Obama is punishing Putin for his invasion in Cremia! Low oil is also good for US economy and avoids stagflation. From this, it looks like the trend won't revert any time soon, until maybe the Fed start officially raising rates.

why is oil headed south?

Need to be a bit conspiracy theorist or imagine yourself as one.

A lot of oil exporting countries need oil to be minimum $80 to support their social programs back in their own country, countries like middle east including Russia.

Look at what's happen now ukraine situation. Sanctions against Russia + weakening oil could hurt and destabalize Russia but is also hurting US middle east allies who also need oil minimum $80 for their own programs. Russia is also world largest gold producer look at where the price of gold has been heading. All tied together.

what they doing to russia now is similar to what happen during the Reagan years that caused the soviet union to collapse.

Yes but I see it's not mere punishing but control, during the Reagan years they lured the Russians into expensive arms race in the Starwars program that bled the russians dry at the same time they also manipulated the Ruble by buying large quantities of it on the black market then redeeming them causing large outflows of forex destabalizing the Ruble. Today they trying to do it with oil prices.

Goldman Sachs has a 2015 target for oil price of US$70. But unlike the Reagan years today there's no expensive starwars project to lure the Russians into at best I see this will just turn into a pissing match between superpowers.