Crude Inventory At 8-Year High
By Yaser Anwar, CSC of Equity Investment Ideas
Think the world's running out of oil? Well, the U.S. certainly has a solid stash of it.
The Energy Department announced that supplies of crude rose 1.4 million barrels to 347.1 million for the week ended June 16. That's the highest level since May 29, 1998, says the report.
Analysts had expected a 0.2 million draw on inventories. The latest numbers could be good news for consumers - an unexpected rise in inventories could sink oil prices.
But, it also may bring up murmurs that oil supply is not the problem. Gasoline inventories added just 300,000 barrels to its coffers, building them to 213.4 million barrels. That was well below what analysts had hoped for.
Many analysts argue that lack of refineries, not oil production, is the culprit when it comes to high fuel prices. In other words, it doesn't matter how much OPEC pumps if the raw material can't be refined.
However, it looks like there are some improvements in that territory as well. Refinery utilization increased for the second week in a row to 93.3 percent, says the report.
According to Economy.com, though, the utilization numbers are still well below average levels. From June 2000 to June 2005, says Economy.com, refinery utilization ran at a rate of 94.9 percent.
But, the research firm points out that the 2.3 percent boost in utilization shows that refineries are coming back online quickly. That can only help gas prices stabilize in the coming weeks. Just cross your fingers for the hurricanes to bypass the Gulf.
http://www.equityinvestmentideas.blogspot.com/
Think the world's running out of oil? Well, the U.S. certainly has a solid stash of it.
The Energy Department announced that supplies of crude rose 1.4 million barrels to 347.1 million for the week ended June 16. That's the highest level since May 29, 1998, says the report.
Analysts had expected a 0.2 million draw on inventories. The latest numbers could be good news for consumers - an unexpected rise in inventories could sink oil prices.
But, it also may bring up murmurs that oil supply is not the problem. Gasoline inventories added just 300,000 barrels to its coffers, building them to 213.4 million barrels. That was well below what analysts had hoped for.
Many analysts argue that lack of refineries, not oil production, is the culprit when it comes to high fuel prices. In other words, it doesn't matter how much OPEC pumps if the raw material can't be refined.
However, it looks like there are some improvements in that territory as well. Refinery utilization increased for the second week in a row to 93.3 percent, says the report.
According to Economy.com, though, the utilization numbers are still well below average levels. From June 2000 to June 2005, says Economy.com, refinery utilization ran at a rate of 94.9 percent.
But, the research firm points out that the 2.3 percent boost in utilization shows that refineries are coming back online quickly. That can only help gas prices stabilize in the coming weeks. Just cross your fingers for the hurricanes to bypass the Gulf.
http://www.equityinvestmentideas.blogspot.com/
posted by douglas mcintyre at 5:35 PM
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