Oil back up to $44.50

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Tense developments in Russia regarding oil giant Yukos and a hostage situation at a school in the south combined with a drop in last week's U.S. oil inventories to pull crude futures well above $44 a barrel Thursday.

Crude for October delivery climbed as high as $44.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a level not seen since Aug. 25. The contract was last at $44.50, up 50 cents, even after climbing almost 5 percent on Wednesday.

I know some wicked people are making lots of money off of it, but for the sake of the planet, I'm an oil bull.

Go oil! Soar higher than you've ever soared before!
There're other sources, which won't be explored,
until you're high enough to drain rich purses!
Let the crude oil soar!

(Maybe I can get John Ashcroft to sing it.)