Historically California has been reasonably self-sufficient in both crude oil and products. In addition to the crude oil produced domestically, California's supply has been supplemented by crude oil from Alaska, and a certain amount of specialty crude oils from the Pacific, and occasionally from the Middle East. Product imports were...
Assessing oil ETFs is not a standard exercise. These ETFs target crude oil, not oil companies, so P/E ratios and average holding size are irrelevant metrics. We use other methods to pick favorites among the big crude oil players. We also find some useful niche funds for specialty situations. ...
Scott Benson submits: Crude oil is the best. There will likely never be anything better in our lifetimes. Crude oil is packed with energy. We were lucky to find it. The world is NOT running out of oil. What we may be running out...
Paul Ausick submits: Last week's EIA report reports crude oil inventories down 4.6 million b/d from the previous week's levels, and gasoline inventories up 1.0 million b/d in the same period. A couple of questions should leap immediately to mind. First, why are crude inventories...
The specter of military engagement in Iraq combined with near record low U.S. crude oil inventories has created the possibility of a crude oil release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve ("SPR"). The protracted supply disruption in Venezuela and an increasingly tense situation in Iraq have shifted this possibility to the...
The crude oil market is a complex one that moves fast - both literally and figuratively - at all times. In fact, the ownership of a particular delivery of crude can change hands several times before the cargo reaches its final destination. Trading in such a dynamic marketplace requires immediate...
Hickey and Walters Bespoke submit: China released its monthly crude oil import figures this morning, and the results show that even with oil hitting record highs, imports during May reached their second highest levels on record. by Bespoke Investment Group
Peter McKenzie-Brown submits: The following are notes on geopolitics as Canadian crude pushes toward the Gulf Coast. This article appears in the June 2008 issue of Oilsands Review. by Peter McKenzie-Brown
The Sovereign Society submits: by Mike Burnick Recently, many investors have begun to speculate that the bull run in crude oil prices has reached bubble-like proportions. Some folks are saying that "speculators" have driven the price of crude to unsustainable levels and a painful correction is just around the corner....
Bob Lang submits: There is word out there that a drop in oil will bring a resurgence of the stock market. I find this rather curious and laughable, mostly because the rise in crude actually sparked several areas of strength. Contrarily, a big drop in oil is...
Last week I showed a long term graph of the price of crude oil adjusted for inflation. But some may disagree that that graph shows a complete picture since inflation can be misstated and since the US dollar is a worthless pieces of paper. Gold is real money. Or so I’m...
John Gilluly submits: I have been watching in amazement while the price of crude strangles the world's economy at $139/bbl. There have been riots and strikes in Europe as gasoline and diesel approach $10/gal (U.S.). In the third world and developing countries, many people have to decide...
Hard Assets Investor submits: By Brad Zigler Yesterday morning's U.S. Energy Department report on oil and fuel inventories left fewer pundits and analysts scratching their heads, at least about crude oil stocks and refinery usage. Forecasts for crude oil stocks and refining capacity utilization were dead-on this week....
George Gorski submits: Last week saw the price of crude oil inch closer to $140/ BBL. Some economists believe the price rise is mainly due to the world oil supply shortfall of about 4 million barrels per day [MBPD]. Proof of the shortage can be seen in the production numbers...
Jason Neault submits: by Jason Neault MacroMarkets new paired oil ETFs launched last week, replacing the previous oil ETFs UCR and DCR that were liquidated in June after reaching their termination triggers. Unlike the popular United States Oil USO, these paired ETFs hold cash instruments and transfer funds between each...
Paul Kedrosky submits: Crude oil prices are off 2.7% percent today, touching $124.30. There has been a more or less straight line crude oil decline for two weeks now, dating back to May 21st, with prices down 7.5% in the period. Hmm, May 21st. Now what could...
Teeka Tiwari submits: Boy oh boy, crude oil sure did an about face didn’t it? We’ve seen spot market oil collapse from $147 to $128 in a heartbeat. And it's these declining crude oil prices -- along with the Fannie FNM and Freddie FRE bail out plan -- that appear...
David Enke submits: As crude oil has sold off over $16 (approximately 11%) in the last four days, natural gas, and the natural gas companies have also taken a hit. As of last week, natural gas prices are down over 20% since July 4, and fell over...
Using daily futures price data, the paper examines the behavior of natural gas and crude oil price volatility since 1990. It test whether there has been a significant trend in volatility, whether there was a short-term increase in volatility during the time of the Enron collapse, and whether natural gas...
