If we were able to reach a 'comfortable unease' on the Iranian situation, I think we'd see prices drop into the low $50s. |
In fact, there is still quite a bit of inflationary pressure that producers need to mitigate to remain profitable. |
In terms of expectations, the crude build was a bit of a surprise. |
In terms of expectations, the crude build was a bit of a surprise. In theory, it should be mildly more bearish but right now with distillates it is the cold weather. |
In the near term, the overall health of inventories is likely to be important. |
In the short run, people's consumption is essentially fixed for gasoline. The biggest evidence of this is despite the fact we've got prices at $3, $4 or $5 a gallon, we've got consumers lining up to pay for it. |
Is inflation dead? Not yet. If this moderating of inflationary pressures were to appear in the other reports, it could bode well for the economy. |
It is conceivable that we could see $3 this summer. |
It is typical to see a slight drop in utilization in the first week of the year. This slight drop, coupled with imports, could allow for a slight crude-inventory build. |
It's going to hit consumers hard. |
It's tough to blame (OPEC) for higher oil prices. I think they're doing what they can, |
It's tough to blame (OPEC) for higher oil prices. I think they're doing what they can. |
Markets were caught off-guard by a blow-out trade deficit, ... This could affect growth. |
Massive inventory declines in crude oil are part of a three-month trend, heating oil prices continue their relentless rise, and the supply disruption premium is in full effect. This may only be the beginning; the winter oil bull run has begun. |
mitigated some of the upward pressure on crude oil prices. |