The Russian Hype

We're finally seeing the expectations of Russian oil crash against the merciless rocks of hard reality:

Claude Mandil, executive director of the International Energy Agency, told the Financial Times that expectations for growth in Russian oil supply were too optimistic and that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries would have to make up the difference.

He said: “To 2010 Opec would have to fill a higher gap. I am not sure that non-Opec supply will be that high and I mainly have in mind Russia but also some other non-Opec suppliers.”

[...]

Oil and its by-products are among several commodities that are booming. Metal prices also struck record highs with benchmark copper prices in London reaching $6,005 a tonne. Zinc prices hit $2,980 a tonne, double the level in October. Gold hit a 25-year high of $604 a troy ounce, and silver reached a 23-year high of $13.01 a troy ounce.

So even the perennially optimistic IEA is admitting that OPEC - our allies in freedom, right? - will get a larger share of the global oil markets.

Of course, if OPEC can't meet the increased demand either, then we're screwed, aren't we?