The WSJ describes the US government’s predictions on oil prices, based on its impressive data gathering. The Energy Information Administration has a nice website and graphics and gives the impression of a sizable budget:

months ago, $100-a-barrel oil seemed an aberration — a price surge driven by speculators that would soon slip back to more reasonable levels. But the move by the agency — usually a price bear that had predicted $87-a-barrel oil in January — suggests $100 oil could be the new norm this year. The arm of the U.S. Energy Department also doesn’t anticipate much relief next year, when it sees prices averaging $92.50 a barrel. Crude oil for May delivery fell 59 cents a barrel, or 0.5%, to $108.50 Tuesday

Two years ago the government’s forecast was a decline from $60 a barrel in the summer. Did they know more then? Do they know more now? Or none of the above?

Looks like quite a party at the US Energy Information Administration.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 at 8:40 am and is filed under business, General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.