Middle East conflicts

Peak oil notes – May 29

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A midweek update. Oil futures fell to a four week low in after hours trading on Wednesday after the API announced their weekly survey shows that US crude stocks grew by 4 million barrels last week along with a 2 million barrel increase in gasoline and a 3 million barrel increase in distillates. Analysts surveyed by the wire services, however, are expecting a 400,000 barrel drop in crude stocks and similar declines in gasoline and distillate inventories. The IEA’s official survey is due out on Thursday this week because of the holiday.

Peak oil notes – May 23

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A mid-week update. Oil prices have fallen $2-3 a barrel this week on weaker demand, increased US production, rising product stockpiles, and a stronger dollar. At the close on Wednesday, NY oil settled at $94.28 and London at $102.60 with the WTI-Brent spread climbing to $8.32. The weekly stocks report showed stocks at Cushing, Okla. increasing to by 450,000 barrels to 50.2 million last week. The report also showed US gasoline consumptionover the last four weeks at 8.5 million b/d, the lowest level in ten years.

Peak oil notes – May 9

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A mid-week update. The surge in oil prices which took NY oil futures from $86 a barrel in mid-April to over $96 continued this week with June futures closing Wednesday at $96.62. The spread between NY and London futures continues to narrow with London currently trading at a premium of only $7.72– the lowest since January 2011. The dollar a barrel jump in NY futures on Wednesday came despite a rather small, 230,000 barrel, increase in US crude inventories and a 57,000 b/d increase in US crude production to 7.37 million b/d — the highest level since February 1992.

Peak oil notes – April 18

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A mid-week update. So far this week oil prices suffered their largest three-day drop of the year and remained below the $90 threshold for the first time since last December. Oil futures in New York settled at $86.30 per barrel on Wednesday, down six percent from $91 at the week’s start. The price of London’s Brent crude this week also slipped below the $100 threshold for the first time this year, closing Wednesday at $97.80. The WTI-Brent price gap remains around $11, also around the year’s lowest level.

Peak oil notes – Apr 4

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A midweek update. Wednesday was a down day with oil, natural gas, gasoline futures, and the equity markets all dropping sharply. NY oil futures were down 2.8 percent, closing at $94.45, as the EIA reported that US crude stocks rose by an unexpected 2.7 million barrels last week to the highest level in 22 years.