It doesn't matter how much crude you pump in, you won't have a meaningful effect on prices if you can't get refined product out, |
News of a fifth consecutive weekly stock build is putting a general weight on oil prices. |
The highs are getting higher and so are the lows. The only way to break that cycle is a negative demand shock or a positive supply shock, neither of which seem likely in the short to medium term. |
The post-drought rebuilding will hold back a bit of the growth and see agriculture still being a negative for 2005-06, but set us up for a very good 2006-07 - assuming average seasonal conditions, |
There was a shortage of capacity before Katrina, which got worse, and which is now under threat from Rita. |
This is a volatile market which is extremely jittery about supply shocks. The hurricane season is still in full-swing and the market can only focus on that right now. |
We're being bounced around as robust crude supplies take the cream off a market driven up by geo-political concerns. |
We're dealing with the short-term supply shock now, although there are still further risks as the hurricane season continues. |
What people are feeling is that Iran is a longer-term issue. The focus is on the now, and inventory rises continue to suggest an easing in tightness -- not just week to week, but also month to month. |
What people are feeling is that Iran is a longer-term issue. The risk to supply is lying much further out, and is still somewhat unclear. |