What $100 Barrels Have Meant

Oil has broken the $100/barrel mark for the first time, and as our own Jessica Stillman reports, its driving up the price of gum. But exactly how much are the stratospheric oil spots truly affecting the bread-and-butter (or more appropriately, the milk and eggs)? Washington Post pins the YOY price increase of milk to stand at 21%, while the eggs are turning into their old golden orbs by increasing a whopping 36% (contrast that with a price drop of 4.5% for real estate).

The OPEC producers don't expect a drop in price, either. They say it's an ugly stepson of the speculators and there is little they can do about it. "What's driving oil is out of our hands," Shokri Ghanem, head of Libya's National Oil Company said. Crude is also priced in U.S. currency, so OPEC has been hesitant to increase supply for fear of the weak U.S. dollar undercutting profits.

With eggs nearly twice as much as I got them a year ago and coffee at a $.10/cup premium over last year, breakfast is about to a become bleak fare indeed...

Ornate Eggs image by fdecomite [cc, 2.0]