Oil Prices

a1bion · Post by **a1bion** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:31 pm

Just figured I'd start a thread dedicated to the gyrations in the oil market. We'll kick it off with this nasty bit of news today:

NEW YORK, March 27 (Reuters) - Oil rose sharply on Thursday after a bomb attack on a major Iraqi crude pipeline slashed exports from the country's southern oil port for the first time in years.

U.S. crude settled up $1.68 to $107.58 a barrel, boosting this week's gains to more than 6 percent. London Brent crude rose $1.01 to $105.00.

"Today's action was driven up by the explosion and catching fire of a pipeline in Iraq," said Nauman Barakat, oil trader and senior vice president at Macquarie Futures USA.

The attack on the pipeline happened amid heavy fighting between Iraqi forces and Shi'ite militants in the area.

A shipping source at Iraq's Basra export terminal said the pipeline attack cut flows on the line to around 1.2 million barrels per day, down 300,000 bpd from average levels, in the first disruption to shipments from Iraq's south since 2004.

An Iraqi oil official said shipments from the Basra export terminal, which accounts for the bulk of Iraq's crude exports, could be cut by a third.

Iraqi officials said efforts were under way to get shipments back to normal, but opinions varied widely on how long the disruption to the pipeline would last.

"Independently, the terrorist-related blast in Basra will not take a significant amount of oil off the market. However, the possibility that this event could be the beginning of another string of attacks on infrastructure has tended to crank up the fear premium in this market," said Jim Ritterbusch, oil analyst at Ritterbusch and Associates.

Crude was also pulled up by heating oil <HOc1>, which rose more than 3.5 percent. Dealers said the late-season gains were supported in part by news an outage at a major South Korean refinery run by S-Oil forced the company to cancel supply contracts in April.

The jump in oil prices Thursday added to a nearly $5 surge on Wednesday that came after a government report showed declines in U.S. fuel stocks as the nation's refineries slowed to their lowest pace since 2005.

Gasoline inventories fell by a larger-than-expected 3.3 million barrels last week and distillates dropped 2.2 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said.

Analysts said the weak U.S. dollar has also prompted investors to buy oil and other commodities as a hedge against inflation.

radbag · Post by **radbag** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:49 pm

josh drives around tampa with his windshield wipers on rain or shine.

TTBHG · Post by **TTBHG** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 3:00 pm

I am buying a smartcar.

a1bion · Post by **a1bion** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 3:51 pm

Oil hit another record today. From Reuters:

NEW YORK, April 9 (Reuters) - Oil surged to a record high over $112 a barrel on Wednesday after a government report showed a sharp drop in U.S. inventories ahead of the summer driving season.

U.S. crude <CLc1> settled up $2.37 at $110.87 a barrel after peaking at $112.21 and eclipsing the previous record of $111.80 hit March 17. London Brent <LCOc1> settled $2.13 higher at $108.47 a barrel after hitting an all-time high of $109.50.

U.S. crude stockpiles fell 3.2 million barrels last week as imports declined, countering analyst expectations for a build, while gasoline and distillate inventories also tumbled, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. [EIA/S]

U.S. gasoline and heating oil futures as well as London gas oil also hit record highs after concern about diesel supplies amid strong European and Asian demand supported crude earlier this week.

"This is a perfect storm for the energy markets, with records hit all around," said Phil Flynn, analyst at Alaron Trading in Chicago.

"But distillates are taking the center stage here because of tightness of supply of diesel and with a cold winter and the recent refinery fire in Finland." he added.

Further strength came from weakness in the dollar, which fell against the euro and the yen on views the U.S. Federal Reserve could cut interest rates by a 50 basis points this month amid worries of a possibly severe U.S. economic downturn.

slideman67 · Post by **slideman67** » Tue Apr 15, 2008 8:05 pm

I am buying a smartcar.

I'm thinking about buying a horse.

radbag · Post by **radbag** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:00 am

114.48 to open

opened yesterday at 112.86

monday was 110.17

TTBHG · Post by **TTBHG** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 9:02 am

^^Just a matter of time before regular unleaded will be $4/gallon. Long term it will be great. Short term I feel bad for middle class incomes down.

radbag · Post by **radbag** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 9:25 am

i use regular unleaded...my cars manual states that regular is suffice...something about the technology of the engine in that performance is optimal at 87 grade...i don't get those who put super or premium and don't get any benefit...they're just wasting money

IHateUGAlyDawgs · Post by **IHateUGAlyDawgs** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 9:29 am

^^Just a matter of time before regular unleaded will be $4/gallon. Long term it will be great. Short term I feel bad for middle class incomes down.

want to elaborate on this one, homey?

I fail to see any $$ coming back to me long term because gas prices are going up.

TTBHG · Post by **TTBHG** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 9:37 am

^^Just a matter of time before regular unleaded will be $4/gallon. Long term it will be great. Short term I feel bad for middle class incomes down.
want to elaborate on this one, homey?

I fail to see any $$ coming back to me long term because gas prices are going up.

If gas stayed at $1.50/gal. for your entire life nobody would bitch. At $4/gal. it makes sense to look at cheaper alternatives. Nobody looks to create a cheaper alternative when prices are already cheap. This will spur development that eventually will cheapen everything up.

MinGator · Post by **MinGator** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:57 pm

i use regular unleaded...my cars manual states that regular is suffice...something about the technology of the engine in that performance is optimal at 87 grade...i don't get those who put super or premium and don't get any benefit...they're just wasting money

it can actually be bad to put high octane gas in a car that doesn't require it. a low compression engine will not generate the pressure and heat required to fully burn the high octane fuel. this can lead to extra deposits etc. on the cylinder and valves etc.

radbag · Post by **radbag** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 6:46 am

good color gman!

G8rMom7 · Post by **G8rMom7** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 8:39 am

I used to use premium gas when I had my Nissan. Then I got a Saturn and kept using the same gas...I kept having these pops and pings, so I called the dealership service people and they asked what kind of gas I was using. They referred me to the manual that came with car and it did say to only use regular gas (I believe for the reason 95 gives above). Since I've switched to minivans, the regular gas seems to be just fine. And thank goodness because I couldn't afford the premium anymore.

Of course, your regularly scheduled maintenance (oil changes, etc.) is important to keeping up the life of your vehicle as well.