Peak oil notes – April 26

A midweek update. New York oil prices, continuing a modest recovery after their mid-month 10% decline, advanced another 3% this week. NYMEX prices rose Monday, were flat Tuesday, then on Wednesday closed up $2—the largest advance this year—at $91.43. The move up was sparked by a weekly government report showing that oil stockpiles rose less than anticipated while gasoline demand unexpectedly jumped by over 4% to a six-month high. Still, US crude oil in storage isn’t far off its recent 23-year high, thanks to rising domestic production and sluggish economic signals.