Month: January 2013

Crude oil prices meandered, yesterday, after surging above $98 in overnight trading. The weekly inventory report showed a large rise in crude inventories and a decent drawdown in refined product stocks. Interestingly, we are finally demand growth in gasoline consumption. This correlates with the improvement in employment in the U.S.,… Read more

Crude oil prices surged above $98 in overnight trading. As the dollar dropped against the euro and euro zone business confidence rose, the demand outlook for energy is seen as improving. Prices did pullback on the release of the Q4 GDP data, which showed a slight contraction.… Read more

It was an active news day, yesterday, both real imagined. Hess announced that was it closing its Reading refinery and exiting the refined product terminal business to focus on exploration and production, and it caused a sizeable rally in RBOB (gasoline) futures.… Read more

WTI Crude is building upon last week’s rebound from the Seaway pipeline snag. Apparently, the pipeline itself is just fine, and the oil in Cushing is ready to go. The problem is that there is no room at the inn down below in Freeport.… Read more

WTI Crude oil got hit hard, yesterday, as sentiment around the one-way trade of a narrowing Brent-WTI spread got up-ended by a snag in the foundation of the trade, the Seaway pipeline. The company announced a reduction in flows by half.… Read more

Among the factors attributable to the recent rise in crude oil prices has been geopolitics. The situation in North Africa has been the focus, but elections in Israel and Iran have also been on the radar. Yesterday, Israelis went to the polls, and, as expected, Benjamin Netanyahu won re-election, but not in overwhelming fashion.… Read more

Chinese economic data continues to impress and improve. Therefore, the improving energy demand outlook from the world’s swing-demand center has enabled crude oil prices to climb above $95 per barrel, targeting $100. There has rightly been a focus on the increase in US oil production, which is now back above 7 million bpd for the first time in 20 years.… Read more

The battle for crude’s next price level has been joined. Prices came under pressure, yesterday, due to growing concerns over the euro zone economy and the German industrial production data that we highlighted in yesterday’s Macro View comment. The looming U.S.… Read more

Crude oil continues to show resilience, maintaining most of the gains achieved during the late December rally. Yesterday, prices nearly a dollar, late in the day, as news of several refinery snags made their impact on cash gasoline prices and impending cold weather in the Northeast stoked demand for heating oil.… Read more

It’s done. The highly anticipated reversal and expansion of the Seaway pipeline, which will bring 400k bpd of oil from Cushing, OK to the Gulf Coast is operational. News of the completion filtered into the market in late December, and seemed responsible for the late-month surge.… Read more