Better Fill up today

[frawin]

This a good news bad news item, if oil/gasoline falls to much we will reduce our efforts to cut consumption, develop alternative energies and get started drilling in the areas that would reduce our energy dependence. Opec does not want us to reduce our consumption, and they sure don't want us to drill our better reserve areas.

Crude Oil Falls for a Second Day on Slowing Gasoline Demand

By Nesa Subrahmaniyan and Grant Smith



July 30 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell for a second day on speculation gasoline demand in Asia and the U.S. may slow after near-record prices reduced consumption.



A U.S. Energy Department report today may show that gasoline supplies rose for a fifth week, according to a Bloomberg News survey. Gasoline use has slipped for 14 straight weeks, MasterCard Inc. reported yesterday.



``The key consideration in the market this week has been demand destruction,'' said Christopher Bellew, senior broker at Bache Commodities Ltd. in London. ``All the warning signs about the U.S. economy have prompted speculators to reduce their exposure, so that the next layer of support is at $117.''



Crude oil for September delivery fell as much as 79 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $121.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was $121.71 at 11:06 a.m. London time.



Yesterday, it fell $2.54, or 2 percent, to $122.19 a barrel, the lowest close since May 6. Prices have dropped more than $25 a barrel, or 17 percent, from their July 11 record.



The Energy Department report will probably show that gasoline inventories rose 400,000 barrels last week, according to the Bloomberg survey.



``The market is bracing for a slowdown and the report tonight could reinforce bearish views,'' said David Moore, a commodity strategist with Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd. ``Consumption is not going great in the U.S.,'' the world's biggest energy user.



India, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia have raised prices of diesel and gasoline in the past two months to cut government expenditure aimed at capping fuel prices and keeping inflation in check.



Less Driving



U.S. motorists drove less for a seventh consecutive month in May, as vehicle-miles traveled on all U.S. roads fell 3.7 percent during the month from a year earlier, the Federal Highway Administration said in a report July 28. The seven-month slide is the longest downward streak since 1979.



Demand for oil and petroleum products dropped 4.3 percent in May from a year earlier to 19.7 million barrels a day, according to Energy Department data released July 28. That's 889,000 barrels a day less for the first five months of the year, compared with the same period a year earlier.



There is 5 percent to 10 percent gasoline ``demand destruction'' now from the year ago in industrialized nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, BP Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward told reporters in London yesterday.



Pump Prices



Regular gasoline at the pump, averaged nationwide, fell 1.7 cents to $3.941 a gallon, AAA, the U.S.'s biggest motoring group, said yesterday on its Web site.



Brent crude for September delivery was at $122.17 a barrel, down 54 cents, at 10:50 a.m. local time on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. Yesterday, it fell $3.13, or 2.5 percent, to $122.71 a barrel, the lowest close since June 4.



OPEC President Chakib Khelil said yesterday in Jakarta should the dollar strengthen and political tensions in the Middle East ease, then the long-term oil price will be about $70 to $80 a barrel.



The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries produces about 40 percent of world oil supplies.

[frawin]

This a good news bad news item, if oil/gasoline falls to much we will reduce our efforts to cut consumption, develop alternative energies and get started drilling in the areas that would reduce our energy dependence. Opec does not want us to reduce our consumption, and they sure don't want us to drill our better reserve areas. Opec wants us to keep the Liberal Left in power.

Crude Oil Falls for a Second Day on Slowing Gasoline Demand

By Nesa Subrahmaniyan and Grant Smith



July 30 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell for a second day on speculation gasoline demand in Asia and the U.S. may slow after near-record prices reduced consumption.



A U.S. Energy Department report today may show that gasoline supplies rose for a fifth week, according to a Bloomberg News survey. Gasoline use has slipped for 14 straight weeks, MasterCard Inc. reported yesterday.



``The key consideration in the market this week has been demand destruction,'' said Christopher Bellew, senior broker at Bache Commodities Ltd. in London. ``All the warning signs about the U.S. economy have prompted speculators to reduce their exposure, so that the next layer of support is at $117.''



Crude oil for September delivery fell as much as 79 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $121.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was $121.71 at 11:06 a.m. London time.



Yesterday, it fell $2.54, or 2 percent, to $122.19 a barrel, the lowest close since May 6. Prices have dropped more than $25 a barrel, or 17 percent, from their July 11 record.



The Energy Department report will probably show that gasoline inventories rose 400,000 barrels last week, according to the Bloomberg survey.



``The market is bracing for a slowdown and the report tonight could reinforce bearish views,'' said David Moore, a commodity strategist with Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd. ``Consumption is not going great in the U.S.,'' the world's biggest energy user.



India, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia have raised prices of diesel and gasoline in the past two months to cut government expenditure aimed at capping fuel prices and keeping inflation in check.



Less Driving



U.S. motorists drove less for a seventh consecutive month in May, as vehicle-miles traveled on all U.S. roads fell 3.7 percent during the month from a year earlier, the Federal Highway Administration said in a report July 28. The seven-month slide is the longest downward streak since 1979.



Demand for oil and petroleum products dropped 4.3 percent in May from a year earlier to 19.7 million barrels a day, according to Energy Department data released July 28. That's 889,000 barrels a day less for the first five months of the year, compared with the same period a year earlier.



There is 5 percent to 10 percent gasoline ``demand destruction'' now from the year ago in industrialized nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, BP Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward told reporters in London yesterday.



Pump Prices



Regular gasoline at the pump, averaged nationwide, fell 1.7 cents to $3.941 a gallon, AAA, the U.S.'s biggest motoring group, said yesterday on its Web site.



Brent crude for September delivery was at $122.17 a barrel, down 54 cents, at 10:50 a.m. local time on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. Yesterday, it fell $3.13, or 2.5 percent, to $122.71 a barrel, the lowest close since June 4.



OPEC President Chakib Khelil said yesterday in Jakarta should the dollar strengthen and political tensions in the Middle East ease, then the long-term oil price will be about $70 to $80 a barrel.



The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries produces about 40 percent of world oil supplies.

[srkruzich]

Good thing its dropping. Same thing happened in the 80's.  The prices are high enough now though that they will continue to develop and drill our own resources.

MAYBE just maybe they will stop this insane usage of our food supplies to create fuel. 

[frawin]

I agree with you, I have always been opposed to the use of food supplies, in a world of staving people, for energy to burn in a car.
Unfortunately our politicians are more interested in their own political career than what is best for the people, and the long term future of America.

[frawin]

Sept -08 crude is trading down at $121.40, off $0.79, Natural Gas for Sept -08 is reading down at $8.875, off $0.2555. I am somewhat surprised at how much natural Gas has come off of the highs the past few days. Inventories are lower than they have been and I look for Gas to move up in November trading or before if we have any appreciable hurricane activity. Many of the Rural area Propane suppliers offer hedging for your winter months supply, I would think now, or in the near future,  would be a good time to lock in a winter price.

[frawin]

Sept-08 Crude oil closed at $126.77 up $4.58 on the day, the move up was attributed to a bigger than expected drop in gasoline inventory, natural gas closed at $9.248, up $0.118 on the day. I think the Natural gas moved was in line with the crude oil move and the use of gas on a BTU basis as compared to crude. The Natural Gas Sorage report comes out tomorrow, I hope we have a better build in storage than what we have been seeing the past few weeks. A bigger concern is the Earthquake news an predictions come out of California. One thing this country does not need is a major earthquake . With the energy crisis, the housing crisis and the Banking crisis the last thing we need is a major earthquake.

[frawin]

Sept-08 Crude is trading at $125.875, down $0.895, Sept-08 Natural Gas is trading at $9.19, down $0.058. The Natural Gas Storage report comes out today, it will be interesting to see what the build is.

[frawin]

Oil Drops on Speculation U.S. Fuel Demand Will Weaken Further

By Grant Smith



July 31 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil declined on speculation that high prices and slowing economic growth will further reduce demand in the U.S., the world's biggest energy user.



U.S. fuel consumption averaged 20.2 million barrels a day in the past four weeks, down 2.4 percent from a year earlier, according to a weekly report by the Energy Department yesterday. Nigeria, the U.S.'s fourth-largest supplier, said production remains close to 2 million barrels a day even after recent pipeline attacks.



The price ``is not sustainable,'' said Eugen Weinberg, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. ``We've seen some demand destruction already. Prices will go back to $120, and $110 before the end of the year.''



Crude oil for September delivery fell as much as $1.21, or 1 percent, to $125.56 a barrel. The contract traded for $125.80 at 11:48 a.m. London time. Prices are 62 percent higher than a year ago.



Futures gained $4.58, or 3.8 percent to settle at $126.77 yesterday, the highest close since July 22, after the Energy Department report showed gasoline inventories fell for the first week in five.



Gasoline supplies dropped 3.53 million barrels to 213.6 million barrels last week, compared with a gain of 350,000 barrels estimated in a Bloomberg News survey.



``On closer examination the gasoline data should not be regarded as that supportive,'' said Gareth Lewis-Davies, research analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort Group Ltd. ``Deliveries from refineries and terminals into the wholesale market were very large indeed, while other data has shown continuing weak retail gasoline sales.''



Even with the inventory drop, gasoline stockpiles remain 3 percent higher than the five-year average for the period.



``Do not be fooled,'' said Robert Laughlin, senior broker at MF Global Ltd. in London. ``Yes, the draw was impressive, but demand still weakens across the U.S. on a weekly basis in the midst of the driving season.''



Brent Crude



Brent crude oil for September settlement traded at $125.65 a barrel, down $1.45, at 11:42 a.m. London time on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract rose $4.39, or 3.6 percent, yesterday to settle at $127.10.



Prices are likely to slide toward $110 before the end of the year unless supply risks intensify in Iran or Nigeria, Commerzbank's Weinberg said.



Nigerian Petroleum Minister of State H. Odein Ajumogobia denied newspaper reports that militant sabotage, such as an assault this week on a Royal Dutch Shell Plc pipeline, had reduced national output to less than a million barrels a day.



Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said his country will push forward with its uranium enrichament program. Speculation that Israeli will use force to stop Middle East's second-largest exporter from acquiring nuclear technology has supported prices since 2006.

[frawin]

Sept -08 Crude is trading at $123.95, down $2.82, Sept -08 Natural gas is trading at $9.17, down $0.078. The weekly storage report came out this A.M, with a build of 65 BCF, for a total underground storage of 2,461 BCF, which is 357 BCF under a year ago and 12 BCF under the 5 year average.

[frawin]

Crude closed at $124.08, down $2.69,crude was down by around $2.50 all the way out, natural Gas closed at $9.119, down $0.129.