Posted on 08/03/2015 2:57:18 PM PDT by Enlightened1
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices lurched 5 percent lower on Monday to their lowest since January, taking global benchmark Brent below $50 a barrel as weak factory activity in China deepened a commodity-wide rout.
Growing concerns over excess global oil supplies, heavy selling in pumped-up gasoline futures and technically driven momentum trading knocked prices to within a few dollars of the six-year lows touched at the start of this year.
U.S. crude had already fallen 21 percent in July, its worst month since 2008 amid mounting evidence of an expanding global glut and a stock market collapse in China, the world's largest energy consumer.
On Monday, the rout deepened after data showed Chinese manufacturing growth unexpectedly stalled in July and U.S. consumer spending advanced at its slowest pace in four months in June as demand for automobiles softened.
Brent , the global benchmark for crude, settled down $2.69, or 5.2 percent, at $49.52 a barrel. Brent's session bottom of $49.36 was within striking range of its 2015 low of $49.19.
U.S. crude settled down $1.95, or 4.1 percent, at $45.17, just about $3 above its 2015 bottom.
"Economic weakness has set the tone," said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at ClipperData, a New York-based energy database.
"But the gasoline crack spread is also unraveling," Smith said, referring to the difference between gasoline and U.S. crude prices, which sets the profit margin for refiners.
(Excerpt) Read more at ca.news.yahoo.com ...
Don’t worry, oil prices will recover right after the first nuclear exchange in the Mideast.
Meanwhile, Speedway/Marathon pushed through a 30-35 cent INCREASE in the gas price in Central Indiana, to $2.50 yesterday.
We are paying now, what we were paying when gas was $65-75 dollars a barrel.
looking forward to it
Gasoline still $4.00 a gallon here in California.
Gee, you are lucky. It's been over $2.65/gal here and is probably going up.
MPC is a great company....for investors.
Only if it’s Muslims killing Muslims.
Oil prices are the classic ‘random walk’. They are equally likely to go up or down in the blink of an eye. The people who think they know what will happen next don’t understand how commodity pricing works.
Yeah but still paying between 2.65 and 2.50 a gallon at least up the East Coast. How was it that President Clinton was able to get us 97 cents a gallon of gas but Obama adds 1.50 at least on the gallon. Something is up. We need the 90’s back badly at least the economy.
Excellent point!
I’m sure some of it is taxes. Although I think the Fed creating 85 Billion NEW DOLLARS in our economy every month has more to do with it.
If our dollar was still pegged to gold, and the feds actually balanced the budget. Gas would probably be about 15 cents a gallon and our economy would be booming.
There is no question that low energy prices affects our standard of living and out life span.
If they would drop the pump prices to reflect the lower oil prices, the consumer would have more dollars to spend and the economy would improve. But that is not the way the oil industry sees it.
NBR last night reported it at $47 and change.
Man, It’s $.347 in Fairbanks! Be thankful for what you got brother!
$10 a barrel helped. I worked in the rent-a-rig oil business at the time the Saudis drove oil down that low. That's when good ole Billy added 5c a gallon tax on gas "for the general treasury" instead of the road fund - and got away with it.
Alla youa oirel not berong to us, ('Bout damn time!)
$10 a barrel helped.
Oh wow. You are right....I thought it was 50 bucks. Ok so I guess I will slow down the complaining some. lol.
$2.15 on the MS Gulf Coast - expected to drop to $2 or a tad under .
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