Better Fill up today

[frawin]

Dec-08 Crude settled at $54.95, down $2.09 on the day, Dec-08 Natural Gas settled at $6.533, up $0.221 on the day.

[Catwoman]

So, that's why it's 1.79 here now...I couldn't believe it when I saw it...I haven't seen it that low in over 5 years, I think...actually, the last time I saw it that cheap was way back 8 years ago...and I thought it was outrageously high back then...time is a cruel teacher.

[frawin]

Dec-08 Crude is trading at $54.85, down $0.10, Dec-08 Natural Gas is trading at $6.515, down $0.018.
Gas at our neighborhood station was a $1.61 last night.

[frawin]

Crude Oil Falls to 22-Month Low in New York on Demand Concerns

By Grant Smith

Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Oil slid to the lowest in almost 22 months before a report forecast to show that U.S. crude inventories increased for an eighth week as a looming recession erodes demand worldwide.

Crude oil stockpiles probably climbed 1 million barrels in the week ended Nov. 14 from 311.9 million the week before, according to a Bloomberg survey before the Energy Department's report tomorrow. Oil also declined as the dollar strengthened against the euro, undermining the appeal of commodities as a currency hedge.

``It's doom and gloom,'' said Eugen Weinberg, a Commerzbank AG analyst in Frankfurt. ``The market is playing the recession card. There could be some negative surprises still to come.''

Crude oil for December delivery dropped as much as 82 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $54.13 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That's the lowest since Jan. 30, 2007. It traded for $54.55 at 9:06 a.m. London time.

It may be too early for OPEC, which supplies 40 percent of the world's crude, to cut output when it meets in Cairo on Nov. 29, group Secretary-General Abdalla el-Badri said, according to Kuwaiti news agency KUNA.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries called the Cairo meeting after the 1.5 million-barrel-a-day production cut announced last month failed to stem a slump in prices. Crude has lost more than $90 from its July 11 record of $147.27 a barrel.

``OPEC would damage its situation if it decides to decrease supplies in Cairo as it would be using up its most efficient weapon: production cuts,'' said Commerzbank's Weinberg.

No End-User Demand

Brent crude oil for January settlement fell as much as $1.06, or 2 percent, to $51.25 a barrel on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. It was at $51.81 at 9:41 a.m. London time.

The Energy Department is scheduled to release its weekly report tomorrow at 10:35 a.m. in Washington.

Refineries probably operated at 84.6 percent of capacity, unchanged from the week before, Bloomberg's survey showed. Gasoline stockpiles probably increased 1 million barrels from 198.1 million barrels a week earlier, and supplies of distillate fuel likely rose 700,000 barrels from 128.4 million barrels.

``It really highlights that there isn't any end-user demand in the market,'' said Mark Pervan, a senior commodity strategist at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Melbourne. ``Refinery rates were moving up toward 90 percent this time last year so it's definitely down year on year.''

The U.S. dollar rose to $1.2588 against the euro as of 9:06 a.m. in London from $1.2650 yesterday in New York.

[frawin]

Dec-08 Crude settled at $54.39 down $0.56 on the day, Dec-08 Natural Gas settled at $6.516, down $0.017 on the day.

[Catwoman]

Gas is 1.78 here!!!!!!!!!!  I can't believe it...I wonder how much further it'll drop.

[jensarlou]

WOOHOO!!!  Gas has finally broken the $2 mark here in Macclenny Fl.  $1.99 is what the local station around the corner from my house had just before I got home this evening.

[frawin]

Dec-08 Crude is trading at $54.275, down $0.115, Dec-08 Natural Gas is trading at $6.505, down $0.011.

[frawin]

Oil Falls to 22-Month Low on Forecast U.S. Stockpiles Expanded

By Christian Schmollinger and Grant Smith

Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell for a fourth day, dropping below $54 to its lowest in 22 months, on expectations U.S. inventories gained last week as fuel demand in the world's largest user declined.

Stockpiles probably climbed 1 million barrels last week while refinery output is likely to have fallen for a third week, according to the median of analyst estimates before an Energy Department report today. U.S. gasoline purchases fell for a 30th consecutive week, MasterCard Inc. said yesterday.

"We see nearly every day now some downward revision in global demand," said Hannes Loacker, an analyst at Raiffeisen Zentralbank Oesterreich in Vienna. "If we see really bad inventory data today, we can go to $45 in one day."

Crude oil for December delivery fell as much as $1.09, or 2 percent, to $53.30 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That's the lowest since Jan. 23, 2007. It traded at $53.94 a barrel at 11:39 a.m. London time.

The December future expires tomorrow. The more active January contract was down 86 cents at $52.83 a barrel.

Oil has dropped 63 percent since reaching a record $147.27 in July. Futures fell 56 cents, or 1 percent, to $54.39 a barrel yesterday, the lowest settlement since Jan. 29, 2007.

Prices rose yesterday as a hijacked Saudi Arabian supertanker was anchored close to the Somali coast. Pirates directed the Sirius Star, the largest merchant ship ever seized, to the Eyl coastal area to the north of Somalia, the U.S. Navy said. The vessel is carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil.

"The effect on the price is marginal and it's been overshadowed by the demand side worries," David Moore, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. "The market is still very worried about consumption."

China Slowdown

China's economy may grow by less than 9 percent in the fourth quarter of this year as overseas demand weakens, the China Securities Journal reported, citing People's Bank of China adviser Fan Gang.

The Asian nation's economic expansion may slip to below 8 percent next year before rebounding to between 8 and 9 percent in 2010, the Xinhua News Agency-affiliated newspaper said today, citing Fan's interview. The country is the world's second- biggest oil consumer.

Most Asian stocks fell today, led by commodity producers as oil and metals prices dropped. Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia's second-largest oil company, lost as much as 6.3 percent. Cnooc Ltd., China's biggest offshore explorer, fell 1.8 percent to HK$5.60.

U.S. Stockpiles

Refineries probably operated at 84.5 percent of capacity, down 0.1 percentage point from the week before, the survey of 12 analysts showed. The plants used 87 percent of their capacity a year ago as they raised their output to produce heating fuels.

"Seasonally it is a time where demand for heating oil starts to pick up," said Toby Hassall, a research analyst with Commodity Warrants Australia in Sydney. "But offsetting that is the economic slowdown which should mute any seasonal support."

Analysts were split over whether gasoline stockpiles rose or fell last week. Supplies were probably unchanged from 198.1 million barrels the week before, according to the survey.

Purchases of gasoline in the U.S. fell 2.8 percent last week, MasterCard Inc. said in its weekly SpendingPulse statement.

Supplies of distillate fuel, a category that includes heating oil and diesel, rose 600,000 barrels from 128.4 million barrels the week before, according to the survey.

The Energy Department is scheduled to release its weekly report today at 10:35 a.m. in Washington.

Brent crude oil for January settlement was at $51.47 a barrel, down 37 cents, on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange at 11:33 a.m. in London. The contract declined yesterday 47 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $51.84 a barrel, the lowest settlement since Jan. 18, 2007.

[frawin]

Opec 'lost $700bn on cheaper oil'

Opec members have lost about $700bn (£467bn) because of falling crude prices, the oil cartel's president Chakib Khelil said in an interview.

Oil prices have fallen 60% from their $147 peak, prompting speculation Opec will cut output again to boost prices.

However, speaking to Algerian newspaper El Khabar, Mr Khelil said Opec was unlikely to make a decision this month.

He said the following meeting on 17 December would be "the most important" as the cartel would get necessary data.

The data will show whether Opec's previous output cuts have been applied by its members.

The cartel, which controls 40% of the world's oil supply, agreed on a 1.5 million barrel-a-day reduction last month.

On Wednesday, US light, sweet crude stood at $54.47 a barrel, while Brent crude cost $51.84 a barrel.

"The Cairo meeting [on 29 November] is considered as an internal debate, while the meeting scheduled in Oran [on 17 December], will be more important in a sense that we will obtain, by that time, more information about the oil market trend," El Khabar quoted Mr Khelil as saying.

"All members... are very concerned about the economic situation which has worsened in the United States and Europe who have entered into a recession, followed by Japan," the Opec president said.