banyon
09-03-2006, 11:59 AM
Is this the explanation:
http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2006-08-26T125900Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-264958-1.xml
Saudi king says high oil prices unjustified - paper
Sat Aug 26, 2006 1:03 PM IST
RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi King Abdullah was quoted on Saturday as saying high oil prices were unjustified because global markets were well supplied.
The king also told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper in an interview that Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, wanted moderate oil prices, despite the benefits it would reap from higher prices.
"The kingdom's oil policy is based on moderate prices and despite the benefits higher oil prices bring to us, we call for moderation in oil prices," the king told the Saudi-owned newspaper.
"Oil production is plentiful, so I am puzzled by the fluctuations in the market and the unjustified high oil prices," he added.
Oil rose on Friday as a tropical weather system brewing in the Caribbean threatened to sweep through the Gulf of Mexico next week and menace oil rigs yet to fully recover from last year's hurricanes.
Support also came from Iran's nuclear row with the West that could prompt United Nations sanctions against the world's fourth-largest oil exporter, although Russia ruled out such punitive action for now.
U.S. crude settled 15 cents higher at $72.51 a barrel, after hitting $73.75 earlier in the day, and gaining 60 cents on Thursday. London Brent rose 2 cents to $72.70.
Or is this the explanation:
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/2006/08/gas_prices_plummeting/
The end of summer. Driving slows, reducing demand for gasoline. And federal requirements for clean air, summer-blend gasoline end next month, making gasoline cheaper to refine and import.
•Sluggish demand. Gasoline use in the first eight months of the year is up 1% vs. a year ago, less than the 1.5% to 2% growth that’s typical, says Michael Morris, analyst at the U.S. Energy Information Administration. “Wholesalers are trying to get rid of product. The growth in demand for gasoline has really tapered off,” he says.
Wholesale prices are falling faster than retail gasoline prices, meaning stations are making more money than when prices were $3. Wholesale prices Tuesday ranged from $1.77 to $1.79 a gallon, well below the $2-plus prices typical until recently.
•Petroleum traders, worried that prices are too high to last, are selling their holdings. That pushes prices down. They also believe hurricanes won’t disrupt Gulf of Mexico production, OPIS senior analyst Tom Kloza says.
Crude oil, which accounts for roughly half the price of gasoline, ended New York trading Tuesday down 90 cents, at $69.71 a barrel. That’s the first time it’s closed at less than $70 since May 4.
Which do you buy?
http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2006-08-26T125900Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-264958-1.xml
Saudi king says high oil prices unjustified - paper
Sat Aug 26, 2006 1:03 PM IST
RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi King Abdullah was quoted on Saturday as saying high oil prices were unjustified because global markets were well supplied.
The king also told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper in an interview that Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, wanted moderate oil prices, despite the benefits it would reap from higher prices.
"The kingdom's oil policy is based on moderate prices and despite the benefits higher oil prices bring to us, we call for moderation in oil prices," the king told the Saudi-owned newspaper.
"Oil production is plentiful, so I am puzzled by the fluctuations in the market and the unjustified high oil prices," he added.
Oil rose on Friday as a tropical weather system brewing in the Caribbean threatened to sweep through the Gulf of Mexico next week and menace oil rigs yet to fully recover from last year's hurricanes.
Support also came from Iran's nuclear row with the West that could prompt United Nations sanctions against the world's fourth-largest oil exporter, although Russia ruled out such punitive action for now.
U.S. crude settled 15 cents higher at $72.51 a barrel, after hitting $73.75 earlier in the day, and gaining 60 cents on Thursday. London Brent rose 2 cents to $72.70.
Or is this the explanation:
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/2006/08/gas_prices_plummeting/
The end of summer. Driving slows, reducing demand for gasoline. And federal requirements for clean air, summer-blend gasoline end next month, making gasoline cheaper to refine and import.
•Sluggish demand. Gasoline use in the first eight months of the year is up 1% vs. a year ago, less than the 1.5% to 2% growth that’s typical, says Michael Morris, analyst at the U.S. Energy Information Administration. “Wholesalers are trying to get rid of product. The growth in demand for gasoline has really tapered off,” he says.
Wholesale prices are falling faster than retail gasoline prices, meaning stations are making more money than when prices were $3. Wholesale prices Tuesday ranged from $1.77 to $1.79 a gallon, well below the $2-plus prices typical until recently.
•Petroleum traders, worried that prices are too high to last, are selling their holdings. That pushes prices down. They also believe hurricanes won’t disrupt Gulf of Mexico production, OPIS senior analyst Tom Kloza says.
Crude oil, which accounts for roughly half the price of gasoline, ended New York trading Tuesday down 90 cents, at $69.71 a barrel. That’s the first time it’s closed at less than $70 since May 4.
Which do you buy?