The first time I went to South Korea in the 1970s, a Korean friend pointed out to me that all the highways were constructed so that they could also be used as runways in case the North Koreans did something crazy. Park Chung Hee was the president of South Korea then and it was my thought that this was the way a general thinks when he is developing the resources of a country. The North Koreans have now done something crazy again this year by shelling an island off the west coast of Korea and killing two people while earlier this year sinking a South Korean warship an killed 46 sailors.
The artillery shelling and the South Korean return bombardment are causing jitters around the world and set off a fall in equities and help the dollar increase. The primary reason the dollar gained versus other currencies is concern about the Irish debt problem. We're back to worrying about the PIGS' (Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain) debt problem. The most worrisome of the PIGS is the Spanish requirements should a bailout be necessary. The tension caused by the Korean armed conflict and the Irish debt problem caused crude and products to fall even though it is anticipated that there will be an inventory draw in tomorrow's inventory report.
Today, crude -45¢, $81.25; gasoline -1.49¢, $2.135; distillate -1.65¢, $2.2502.
No comments:
Post a Comment