Transcripts

Oil Prices Barrel Closer To $100

SUSIE GHARIB: Stocks on Wall Street rallied today, even as gold soared to its highest level since 1980 and oil topped $97 for the first time ever in intra-day trading. In New York, December crude futures jumped 3 percent or $2.72, to settle at $96.70 a barrel -- a new record high. Oil prices continued their march toward $100 on expectation of tomorrow's government inventory report showing another sharp drop in crude supplies. Oil prices have surged more than 40 percent just late August and oil trader Chris Motroni believes speculators are behind this huge spike.

CHRISTOPHER MOTRONI, INDEPENDENT OIL TRADER: Speculators have driven the technical market to the point that we are in uncharted territory. So instead of having any real numbers to play with, people are just panicking buying. So it's kind of irrational, but at the same time, we are having these massive draws in the weekly numbers that have driven it up as well.

GHARIB: Motroni says oil could close at the $100-level this week and definitely by the end of November. And Paul, we just want to apologize to viewers that here at the New York Stock Exchange, there's a celebration going on on the floor and thus the music.