If the stock market were not making five- and six-year highs, Iran and the U.S. were fast friends and the Nigerian militants were stuffing flowers in the gun muzzles of the Nigerian army -- then we might be worried about a reversal, but not now. |
Iran's oil minister has said that oil exports would not be used a s a bargaining chip, but that possibility must be considered, particularly if tensions escalate. |
It is apparently going to take more than growing inventories to turn prices seriously lower. |
It's high noon at the Security Council. Prices will rise because tensions are high. Iran has said that it would not specifically use oil as a weapon but now they are changing their tune. |
Last year began with a large surplus but an unusually hot summer ate up those reserves and soon thereafter the hurricanes hit. There is still some infrastructure that was damaged, which could be a problem. |
Mild weather and growing stockpiles can't be ignored much longer. |
Mild weather is supposed to continue across most of the northern third of the country until next week, . |
Milder weather forecasts for this week and extraordinarily high stockpiles continued to weigh on sentiment. |
Once it gets back over the warm water of the Gulf it can gain strength and change direction. It doesn't look like it is headed for the big facilities in the Gulf, but we won't know for sure until the weekend when we can't do anything. |
Only if the news from the around the globe remains quiet will selling continue in earnest. |
Prices have retreated unusually fast and there is still two months left for the thermometer to drop. |
Relatively moderate weather, ample supplies and an escalation in the dispute over Iran's nuclear program should make for another week of high volatility. Absent geopolitical uncertainty, prices should be moving lower. |
Repairs are proceeding apace. Discretionary driving can be cut back but you have got to heat your house. Heating oil will soon lead the market. |
Sometimes, the jobs we do seem to go unheralded, but I want you to know that is not the case. There are those who cheer us from afar. Although the applause doesn't always make it back to us, today we are celebrating an instance where it has. |
Still, brimming stocks should keep any rally in check, late week cold notwithstanding. |