Oil slips below $36 ($35) as rising US crude inventories fuel demand concerns

Minneapolis Star Ttribune ^ | February 12, 2009 - 8:04 AM | JAKE NEUBACHER

[TLI]

VIENNA - Surging crude inventories and investor skepticism over the U.S. stimulus package dragged oil prices below $36 ($35) per barrel Thursday.

Investors seemed more wary than relieved after U.S. lawmakers finally agreed overnight to a $790 billion stimulus bill designed to pull the economy out of recession.

[TLI]

Nymex Crude Future 34.57 -1.37

Nymex RBOB Gasoline Future 128.90 1.92

Here in Texas you add about .39 cents to the 1.28 to get the retail price not including station profit and transportation cost.

When Crude was at or below 40.00 brl a few months ago the Futures price of gasoline was in the .90 cent a gallon range.

Someone, somewhere is making a nice piece of "change."

[fellowgeek]

Then I wonder why the price at the pump has not gone down in recent days ... as a matter of fact, it has gone up 10-15 cents recently.

Someone is getting screwed here ... the consumer!

[SoldierDad]

Yet, the price of gas at the pumps keeps going up - facinating!!!

[Danae]

The 08 Oil Spike was a deliberate attack IMHO. Oil Speculators did a MASSIVE wealth distribution scam and the people who paid for it were the same ones that lost their houses because of it, the Poor and the VERY poor who could not afford their Fannie Mae loans.

Why isn’t anyone investigating that?

[ontap]

Why does rising inventories fuel demand concerns?

[TLI]

Nymex RBOB Gasoline Future 128.90 . +1.92

[castowell]

You’re on to something. Crude demand continues to fall, yet the price at the pump where I live (Northern Virginia) has risen 40 cents/gal in the last 6 weeks. Are the refineries reducing output because of maintenance all at the same time? I don’t think the fuel blend switches over until the spring. What gives?

[John W]

Northeast Indiana went up 20 cents a gallon the day the offshore drilling news came out. I understand there can be no connection based on my re-education by oil experts here, but, FYI.

[Sacajaweau]

Okay....We cut back like they told us...and Voila...

At $140 a barrel...we were paying $4. At $36...we're paying $2.

Taxes don't go down!!

[thackney]

To Add to the discussion on this thread:

Diesel price may drop below gasoline
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2183116/posts

There is ongoing correction from the relative low gasoline prices of late last year compared to crude. In Oct, Nov & Dec the average spot market for Gasoline sold for less than crude oil, not a sustainable position.

Cushing, OK WTI Monthly Spot Price
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/hist/rwtcm.htm

U.S. Gulf Coast Conventional Gasoline Regular Monthly Spot Price
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/hist/rruusgm.htm

[meyer]

Gold’s up, DOW’s down, Oil’s down. People are not betting on productivity for the future.

[sonrise57]

from Market Watch today:

"Crude inventories excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve increased by 4.7 million barrels, more than analysts' expectations, to 350.8 million barrels in the week ended Feb. 6, the Energy Information Administration reported.

Gasoline stockpiles fell by 2.6 million barrels while distillate fuels, which include diesel and heating oil, declined by 1 million barrels, the EIA said."

Refineries have reduced capacity around the country in order to reduce gasoline and distillate stockpiles with the result that pump prices are up.

[Tarpon]

Obama intends to ration energy, drive up prices, by the simple act of constraining supply -- Both transport fuel and electricity.

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

The money that is left on the Doe is rapidly going into securities and under people's mattresses. (Gold)

I will be surprised if it levels off at 6,000. I see it going down under 5,000 before the year is out. The indicator was when Obama announced the passing of his Porkulus miracle “rescue” plan. And the market reaction was pure justice.

[TLI]

Gold’s up, DOW’s down, Oil’s down. People are not betting on productivity for the future.

Bull’s-eye. The Presidency of Øbama Hussein The Magnificent is well on it's way to being the utter disaster 47% of u.S. Citizens knew it would be.

[TLI]

Refineries have reduced capacity around the country in order to reduce gasoline and distillate stockpiles with the result that pump prices are up.

" U.S. refineries ran at 81.6 percent of total capacity on average, a drop of 1.9 percent from the prior week. Analysts expected capacity to slip to 83 percent. Refiners took in 214,000 fewer barrels of crude last week and gasoline production fell, the EIA reported."

http://www.startribune.com/business/39489562.html?page=2&c=y (second page)

[NavyCanDo]

Sure would like to see it reflected at the pumps. Here in the Puget Sound it went down to the S 1.80’s average several weeks ago, but then bounced back to an average of 2.17 over the last couple of weeks. yet the price per barrel is lower now that when we were in the $ 1.80’s.

[tatsinfla]

gas has risen from approx 1.57 a gal to just over 2.00 a gal here in fla on average despite oil being below 40.00 a barrel........

[PugetSoundSoldier]

That price is only WTI. Brent and ME crude are still at $42-$44.

I think this price drop of WTI reflects the strength of the USD relative to the rest of the world more than a big drop in demand... We still import 65% of our oil needs.

[Eva]

I’m beginning to think that the low barrel price is as artificial as the high barrel price, intended to narrow the competition with a new round of take overs, leaving only two big oil companies, who are willing to work with the government regulations, rather against them, in exchange for a noncompetitive market. EXXON and BP.

We already ready read that EXXON was looking around for a company to take over, probably another large one.