I’ll believe energy is in a bear market –as opposed to a nasty correction –  when I see unleaded regular down around $1.50 a gallon. Sure, it’s nice to read for a change that  oft-beleaguered consumers evidently have OPEC on the run:  “An emergency meeting should not be ruled out,” a senior cartel spokesman told the Wall Street Journal on Thursday.  This, on top of an earlier pledge by the ministers to cut the world’s daily ration by 1.7 million barrels.

Perhaps they should be holding prayer meetings instead, since a prolonged cold snap like the one reportedly tightening it grip on the Mid- and Southwest at this very moment would turn crude quotes around in a hurry. Meanwhile, traders who have been climbing over each other in the pits to unload oil contracts seem to have forgotten that a bull market in oil prices is never more than one geopolitical crisis away -- a shoulder-fired missile, perhaps, scuttling a tanker in the Persian Gulf.

Barring the unexpected, though, we can offer only a grim technical outlook that sees February Crude falling to as low as 45.32 in the coming weeks. Yesterday’s weakness corroborated the prediction to the extent that a minor Hidden Pivot support at  52.21 fell by the wayside. The next lies at 51.07, and if you’re in the habit of groping for bottoms all the way down, you can try it there with a stop-loss as tight as four cents.

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London Seminar

A Hidden Pivot seminar in London appears likely, judging from the strong initial response.  If you’re interested in attending a two-day class there, probably sometime in the spring of 2007, please let me know via e-mail, including your contact information. The cost would be $1,500 USD.