Crude oil prices have always stayed very volatile, and especially during 2007 and early 2008 the prices were climbing up every week. The prices moved from less than 30 dollars in 2007 beginning, to over 146 dollars by March 2008.
The key reason for the spike in the crude oil prices was not the demand surge across the globe, the key reason was that there was over 20 billion dollars of speculative money from US / Europe/ Japan, which was betting crude oil price movements on a daily basis.
And when the global financial crisis peaked in 2008 second half, the speculators were forced to square off all their positions and that lead to crude oil prices crashing to 35 dollars a barrel in the fag end of 2008. And through the entire phase of 30 dollars to 147 dollars in two years time, and then back to 35 dollars in the next nine months, is the handiwork of speculative funds, and not OPEC.
Statements and actions by OPEC are only of long term nature, and are only used smartly by the speculators for their moves.
But with the returning of normalcy in a slower pace to the global financial markets in the last few weeks, experts fear that the crude oil speculators might once again start playing in the market.
So be ready for a see-saw ride in crude oil prices, in the coming months.