[Brucelee]

Man, this must be pissing OPEC and the Russians off. Not to mention Chavez.







Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell below $33 a barrel in New York as the strengthening dollar reduced the appeal of commodity investments at a time when demand is declining and stockpiles are rising.

At Cushing, Oklahoma, where the benchmark oil for New York futures is stored, inventories have climbed to 33 million barrels, the highest since records started four years ago. The February contract will cease trading today, so traders have to sell futures or accept the barrels at a time of falling demand.

“Traders are rolling over to the next month to avoid delivery and the dollar is rallying,” said Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst with VTB Capital in London. “All this against a background of falling demand and easing geopolitical tensions.”