Oil Surges to One-Year High of More Than $81 on US Gasoline Supply Drop

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg

By Mark Shenk

Oct. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose above $81 a barrel in New York for the first time in a year and gasoline surged after a U.S. Energy Department report showed a greater-than-forecast drop in supplies of the motor fuel.

Gasoline stockpiles fell 2.21 million barrels, more than twice the median of analyst forecasts, to 206.9 million barrels in the week ended Oct. 16, according to the department’s report. Oil also advanced as U.S. equities increased and the dollar slipped against the euro, bolstering the appeal of commodities.

--clip
Declining Consumption

Demand for the motor fuel declined 3.3 percent to an average 8.95 million barrels a day, the biggest one-week drop since May, the report showed.

Supplies of distillate fuel, a category that includes heating oil and diesel, fell 784,000 barrels to 169.9 million, according to the department. Stockpiles climbed to 171.6 million barrels in the week ended Oct. 2, the highest level since January 1983.


Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a2v1KAlYeXns

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Not mentioned in this article is that according to the energy agency, refineries ran at 81.1 percent of operable capacity last week.

[paulsby]

1. also note

that the EURUSD currency pair rose heavily today, and that is part of the reason why oil ramped.

the euro is currently at 1.50377

iow, it takes $1.50 and change to buy one euro

this morning it was 1.492

that's a decent sized move.

[groundloop]

2. Something about this smells funny.

Demand falls 3.3% for the week.
Stockpiles fall 1%.
So refineries throttle back to 19% below capacity for the week.
And prices jump.

Maybe Uncle Exxon needed a little cash infusion???

[Dreamer Tatum]

3. See reply #1 for a more likely scenario nt

[midnight]

5. It smells stinky.....

[NJmaverick]

13. Oil companies have been shutting down refineries

that's why supply is dropping. Still the supply of refined product would not drive up the price of the crude product. If anything crude prices should be going down. Only problem is that price is manipulated rather than fixed by supply and demand.

[mule_train]

4. You pay for Goldman Sach's bonusses at the pump

the money just handed over to wall street with NO accountability has destroyed the dollar

where's the 'Change' you ask?

why, it's right on the gas pump

[midnight]

6. I'm more inclined to agree with this reason than others.

[mule_train]

7. Obama's actual policies have been 'trickle down economics' on steroids

I think even reagan would have blushed

wall street didnt get a tax cut, they got a TRILLION IN FREE MONEY!!!!

the people who caused the mess get record setting rewards and total absolution (goldman gave $700,000 average bonus to 31,000 employees)

everyone else gets a nice hard squeeze to pay for it, at the gas pump among other places

bet the goldman guys are fist bumping each other at the martini bars

'yes we can!!!!'

[high density]

9. Tax cuts for the middle class plus new funds for small business.

He's also been focused on lowering our health insurance premiums. Yeah, I'm sure Reagan would have been all over that stuff. :eyes:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091021/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_small_businesses

[RaleighNCDUer]

11. And it would have been so different under McCain's guidance.

give it the fuck up.

[mule_train]

15. who said anything about mccain? OF COURSE mccain would have sucked

it that going to be the excuse for every issue fo rthe next 4 years?

'but mccain!'

[high density]

8. Surging fuel prices, that's what our economy needs for sure

Glad we learned nothing from the last ramp-up. Somebody must want more fast money.

[notadmblnd]

10. so if demand is down, why is supply down?

are there freighters sitting off the coast again just waiting for the price to rise?

[NJmaverick]

14. Oil companies have been shutting down refineries

That's why. Oil prices should be dropping as a result of less demand, but it's not.

[NJmaverick]

12. Big oil has been shutting down refineries that's why supplies have dropped

should have nothing to do with the price per barrel of oil. This is just BS to cover up for more manipulation of oil prices.

[BumRushDaShow]

16. Around here, Sunoco idled a refinery

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sunoco-cuts-dividend-idling-nj-refinery-2009-10-06

Greedy bastards.

[xc8mip]

17. inflated Dollar not conspiracy

http://crisistalk.worldbank.org/2009/07/dollar-devaluation-the-feds-secret-weapon.html

[trof]

18. I paid $2.60/gal. yesterday. Still love my Prius.

[Javaman]

19. Oil will be $100 per barrel come Jan. 1st. nt