There seem to be some encouraging stories for the future price of oil here (Saturday March 7th), I believe it was Sharky who brought this site to our attention?

The very first story is something I've been wondering about for quite some time. "Crude oil rose to a five-week high as the U.S. dollar weakened against the euro, bolstering the appeal of commodities as an alternative investment."

I've been wondering why the price of gold really takes off as a hedge against inflation, and oil hasn't. It just doesn't make sense to me. Nobody really uses gold, they just store it in vaults. However oil as a commodity actually serves a purpose and even declines in supply. It's something tangible, not just currency that can be printed. Okay so there was a temporary glut of oil on the market, but shouldn't the oversupply condition be ameliorated by the fact that it's a hard commodity held in the face of runaway spending of virtual dollars?