No Good Reason for Latest Oil Price Spike

Oil hit another record milestone -- $98 a barrel for light, sweet crude -- yesterday. But, according to USA Today, analysts have no reasonable explanation for why.

The price had been going up for weeks on speculation that Israel might attack Iran, or Turkey would attack Iraq, or because OPEC didn't boost supplies more in September and a host of other factors.

The fear is the high prices will trickle down to the pump, leading to per-gallon gas costs of up to $4 if oil stays at or near $100 a barrel for a long period of time. That doesn't look likely, at least based on the factors analysts typically use to gauge accurate market prices.

The real reasons are often elusive, and come down to the way traders think the market will go. It could be just a level of anxiety at this point that doesn't reflect reality. As far as the experts quoted by USA Today know, it's a mystery.

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