Oil Spikes To $108; The President Parties On Martha's Vineyard

I track the WTI-Brent spread here.

August 16, 2013: At Bloomberg energy, Brent - $110.04; WTI - $107.75. Spread: $2.29.

Bakken and WTI close to parity. 

Based on comments I see elsewhere, I think some folks have forgotten how good things have gotten for the Bakken. From earlier this year; remember Bakken was selling at a discount to WTI at this time: 

• February 15, 2013:  At Bloomberg energy, Brent - $117; WTI - $95. Spread: $22. 
• February 11, 2013:  At Bloomberg energy, Brent - $118; WTI - $97. Spread: $21. 
• February 6, 2013:  At Bloomberg energy, Brent - $118; WTI - $97. Spread: $21.
• February 5, 2013:  At Bloomberg energy, Brent - $117; WTI - $97. Spread: $20.

I haven't watched television (except for NASCAR races at the Sports Restaurant) for the past two months (has it been that long), so I have no clue what CNBC is saying about the price of oil, but I have seen almost nothing in the print media or on the internet. Gasoline is solidly at $4.00/gallon and oil is solidly at $110 and the world keeps moving along.

Remember, most Bakken operators can make money at $40/bbl oil. They won't make much money, but they will keep drilling. At $60/bbl they do nicely. Over $100, they can start to get into trouble due to derivatives, hedges if there are glitches in production or transportation.