Terror in Indonesia, Oil Drops; Unrest in Iran, Oil Rises

Bloomberg News and the Associated Press can't seem to agree on whether a fragile security situation is good or bad for oil prices. Oil dropped overnight before markets opened on Friday last week, but then surged the rest of the day. Bloomberg partly attributed the fall in prices to the terrorist attacks in Indonesia, while the AP partly attributed the rise in prices to unrest in Iran.

In other words, whatever's happening in the world is the cause of whatever happens to oil--but only partly, in case we need some wiggle room, right?

From the morning of Friday, July 17:

Crude oil fell in New York for the first time in three days as the dollar rose against the euro, limiting the appeal of commodities as an investment.

The dollar climbed as investors sought safer assets amid speculation that CIT Group Inc. will file for bankruptcy, and after two explosions hit hotels in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta...

Investors sought safer assets after the blasts including the dollar and the yen. The U.S. currency gained to $1.4064 per euro from $1.4148.

Then later from the AP that same day:

Oil prices surged through the week, rising above $63 a barrel Friday as China reported faster economic growth and political turmoil in Iran raised concerns about future oil supplies.

Nevermind that the "turmoil in Iran" has been going on for a month now, but whatever.

And to top it off, Bloomberg reported early Saturday morning:

The dollar and the yen posted the biggest declines against the euro since May as corporate earnings topped forecasts and U.S. reports showing gains in housing and a slower decline in industrial production...The U.S. currency fell 1.2 percent to $1.4102 per euro yesterday, from $1.3936 on July 10.

But wait -- didn't they just tell us less than 24 hours earlier that the dollar was appreciating as a result of the terrorist attacks?