One lone trader was responsible for oil reaching $100, and it seems he was just looking for a moment of fame.

Stephen Schork, a former floor trader on the New York Mercantile Exchange and the editor of an oil market newsletter, said one floor trader bought 1,000 barrels, the smallest amount permitted, and sold it immediately for $99.40 at a $600 loss.

“They absolutely overpaid,” he told Radio Four’s Today Programme.

“He paid $600 for the right to tell his grandchildren that he was the first in the world to buy $100 oil.”

Wow. That’s an exciting story to tell the grandkids. “You know your grandpa was the first man to purchase oil for $100?”. I can see their eyes glistening in excitement now.

Oil’s stayed below the historic level since then, and some analysts are now questioning the validity of the trade.

Blame Jack M.