Month: April 2014

WTI oil prices pared gains, despite more upset in Libya, which served to prop up Brent prices and renew the widening action of the Brent-WTI spread. Libya is like a flirt to the market, enticing the bears with the allure of restoring oil flow, only flit away as security conditions break down within hours or days of announced deals to whack up the oil revenue.… Read more

US crude oil inventories surged to a record, after weeks and weeks of rising storage levels, according the weekly EIA report. The Gulf Coast, in particular saw a rise in crude oil inventories and a surge in refinery activity of 400k bpd.… Read more

WTI oil prices fell, yesterday, as the realization of surging inventories weighs on the domestic US price marker. The API reported another large increase in overall crude oil inventories, but, unfortunately for US drivers, there was another large decline in gasoline inventories.… Read more

Oil prices remain well-supported by the geopolitical concerns surrounding the Ukraine situation. There appears to be some situational fatigue, as NBC News reported that Russians had crossed the Ukarine border and it caused barely a ripple. Still, Vice President Biden’s trip to the Ukraine, today, will keep the focus of the market on the trouble spot.… Read more

Oil prices are back on the rise this morning, despite weaker China GDP data, a resumption of some Libyan output, and a large reported increase of crude oil inventories by the API in last night’s report. Of course, we have been somewhat bearish, so we lead with the bearish elements that this market faces this morning.… Read more

WTI crude oil prices are lower this morning, after losing substantial ground to Brent crude oil prices, yesterday. Brent caught the flight-to-safety trade on rising tensions in the Ukraine. The Russian fly-by or buzzing of a US naval ship in the Black Sea introduced a new aspect to the Russian supply fear premium.… Read more

There were additional significant gains for the crude oil market, yesterday, and the source of the strength was difficult to discern. The riots in Ukraine seemed to add to the geopolitical calculus. Of all the levers Russia can and will pull in this situation, a disruption in their crude oil or refined product exports does not seem likely.… Read more

Crude oil prices snapped back higher, yesterday, and more gains have been achieved overnight. There was a good amount of selling on news that the Libyan situation had been or would be resolved in short order. That is proving to be fanciful thinking.… Read more

Crude oil prices are lower, again, this morning, after falling, yesterday. Brent crude has gotten hit harder by news that Libyan rebels and the government there may finally be close to a deal. The euro zone economy is also a factor.… Read more

Crude oil prices are slightly lower, due mostly to a further decline in a measure of China’s manufacturing sector. The HSBC manufacturing PMI for March fell to an 18-month low of 48. As we like to say, China is the swing-demand center these days, and their data count for a lot.… Read more