If you enjoy the content at iBankCoin, please follow us on TwitterNEW YORK (AP) — Oil is back above $101 per barrel after earlier losing ground when a government report showed an unexpected increase in supplies. Weakening demand for gasoline and other petroleum products was the cause.
Benchmark West Texas Intermediate on Wednesday fell 3 cents to $101.24 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price foreign oil that’s imported by U.S. refineries, gave up 63 cents to $109.88 in London.
Prices dropped after the Energy Information Administration reported that oil supplies increased unexpectedly last week by 1.3 million barrels. Gasoline supplies jumped more than expected, adding 5.1 million barrels for the week ended Dec. 2. Supplies are growing because of weak demand for oil-based fuels in the U.S.
Government figures show that gasoline demand in the U.S. is on track this year to be at the lowest level since 2003.
Oil has been hovering around $100 per barrel for more than a week. Investors are watching Europe’s struggles to contain a banking crisis that threatens to pull the region into recession. Widespread spending cuts are expected to reduce energy demand within Europe and among major manufacturing countries like China that export goods to the eurozone.
European leaders are working on ways to boost fiscal discipline and reduce debts. But credit ratings agencies have questioned if they’re doing enough.
At the pump, gasoline prices rose more than a penny to $3.286 per gallon, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. A gallon of regular unleaded is 12.1 cents cheaper than it was a month ago, but it’s still 32.8 cents higher than the same time last year.
In other energy trading, heating oil gave up 1.8 cents to $3.004 per gallon and gasoline futures lost 4.12 cents to $2.6042 per gallon. Natural gas dropped by 6.1 cents $3.427 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Joined Nov 11, 2007
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because it is pumped in after hours and pre market trading when volume is almost none existent.
once we clear 100$ and get to 96$ or less, we’ll get a huge drop.
oil price is 80% speculation. supply and demand has not mattered for years.
it’s like trading butter for 50$ a pound. it’s just absurd.
once the pipeline is approved, once Obama is almost sure to lose the next election, oil prices will plummet
How does Obama not losing this election fit into that thesis?
Obama has a vested interest into high oil prices.
Solyndra and other green fraud enterprises rely on high oil prices to be profitable.
if oil was at 250, many of these companies, or green wind energy plants and other alternative energy projects would be competitive…
the higher the oil price, the less obvious the lack of competitiveness of green energy.
once he loses, or is close to lose, the upside is gone in oil.
republicans are for drilling and pipelines and against green energy.
since the oil price is mostly speculation, the smart money will go into gold or other commodities with better upside.
then oil will crash
http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?Ind=E
Energy/Natural Resources
Led by the oil and gas industry, this sector regularly pumps the vast majority of its campaign contributions into Republican coffers. Even as other traditionally GOP-inclined industries have shifted somewhat to the left, this sector has remained rock-solid red.