metallix Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 Oil Ends at Highest Price in 13 Years U.S. gasoline supplies are running 5 percent below the five-year average, sparking concerns refineries will struggle to build supplies in time for summer holiday driving demand. Wed Mar 17, 2004 03:57 PM ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. oil prices roared to its highest closing price in over 13 years on Wednesday as a drop in already low gasoline inventories sharpened the threat of a supply crunch that could hurt economic growth. U.S. light crude futures (CLc1: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 70 cents to settle at $38.18 a barrel, nearly two percent higher. In London, May Brent crude (COK4: Quote, Profile, Research) ended 85 cents, or 2.6 percent, up at $33.53. It was the highest settlement for U.S. crude since October 1990. Prices jumped after the Energy Information Administration, an arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, released its latest snapshot on the world's biggest oil market. The report showed a further 800,000 barrels decline in gasoline stocks to 199.6 million barrels. U.S. gasoline supplies are running 5 percent below the five-year average, sparking concerns refineries will struggle to build supplies in time for summer holiday driving demand. "What we're seeing now is that some funds had moved to the side making sure there wasn't a bearish surprise and now they are rotating back into the long side," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates. U.S. light crude prices have averaged almost $35 a barrel so far in 2004, well above 2003's average price of $31, which was the highest in more than two decades. At the day's settlement, crude futures had risen $4.31, or nearly 13 percent, since Feb. 10, when OPEC decided it would cut official production quotas by 4 percent from April 1. OPEC cuts plans and rocketing Asian demand from China and India have combined to push prices to levels which consuming countries fear could hurt economic growth. The head of Germany's export industry association said on Tuesday that oil prices pose a bigger risk to Germany's economic recovery than the euro's exchange rate. The surge in price led the United States to spend an extra $200 million on oil in January versus December, even though it imported eight million fewer barrels, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. In January, the U.S. trade deficit widened to a record $43.1 billion. Economists say the oil price surge was the spoiler. Continued ... © Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOZACK Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 I DRIVE A BIG FAT FUCKIN SUV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villain Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 I ain't even sweatin it dog. I'm already on some Mad Max shit. I gotta wonder though if this is some kinda scam to get people to pay more. I mean come on.... we just built a damn pipeline in Afghanistan and we just took over iraq. Nah... I think this is a conspiracy of the single oil power which is the United States. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Æ° Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 Now I can finally have a good answer when people ask me why the fuck I bought a volkswagen golf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deph Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 It sounds like one of those Armegedon trips again. Sit back and enjoy whats on offer today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
$360 Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 OH SHIT! *turns and runs in the diection of canada* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abracadabra Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 catch the train Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaCosaNostra Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 are you fucking kidding me....another PeakOil thread!?! We're fucked regardless...don't worry about it//////////////./././././///////////////////./. www.rense.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suburbian bum Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 Funny thing is that the 1.69 a gallon I am paying here at the "highest price in history" is still cheap as hell compared to like the 1.10 a liter they pay in many other countries which equals close to 4 bucks a gallon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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