WTH is going on with oil?

Me ^ | 5/20/2010 | Me

[mikelets456]

WTH is going on with oil... Down another $5 today. Also, it is down $25 over the last three weeks but no change at the pump... why? Memorial day weekend?

Is this due to our strnger dollar?

[GOP_Lady]

Good.

Keep going lower.

I have to purchase 600 gallons of home heating oil for the winter.

[Roccus]

Oil demand is dropping, and some of the speculators are getting squeezed into liquidating long positions.

Awwwww, I wanna see some of 'em take delivery.

[rottndog]

You got some 'splainin' to do. Yeah, the no manufacturing part sucks, but the rest is definitely good news.

This is not really about manufacturing...it's about global economic activity--healthy growing economies have steadily increasing demand for oil. This time of year, in the Northern Hemisphere, economic activity should be increasing and demand for oil should be doing the same...that is obviously not the case.

The steady drop in oil prices at this time of the year means only one thing--economic downturn--The global economy, including the massive US economy, are headed back into recession (if we ever really got out of the last one). The canary is dead in the cage...

[Jack Hydrazine]

[Eva]

Oil is a GLOBAL market. The Global economy is in worse shape than the US, so oil usage is down.

[wku man]

"The canary is dead in the cage."

Of course, it was really never alive, just nailed to the perch like the Norwegian Blue in the Monty Python sketch.

From what this layman can see, there never was a recovery, just a leveling out of the free fall. What was passed off as a "recovery" was nothing more than an attempt to pull the wool over our eyes by the government-media complex. Of course, many of us have always been able to see that the Emperor has no clothes.

That said, I'll be happy to see gas prices drop here in Idaho. The money I'll save will go into my preparations.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

[r9etb]

It’s due to low demand and large supplies.

[r9etb]

The steady drop in oil prices at this time of the year means only one thing--economic downturn--The global economy, including the massive US economy, are headed back into recession (if we ever really got out of the last one). The canary is dead in the cage...

Agreed. But perhaps there's more, too.

One of the major drivers for increasing oil prices over the past year has been increasing Chinese oil consumption.

It'd be interesting to see the Chinese oil numbers, as a proxy for the overall Chinese economy.

If they're fairly level, that means no economic growth... and that means problems for them.

[mad_as_he$$]

Curious. Is your product retail chain stuff or industrial chain items?

[RobRoy]

Where I live (Seattle area) gas has dropped 20 cents in the last week or three.

[Grunthor]

“Where I live (Seattle area)”

My apologies. My fiance is from Everett and just loves Seattle. I’ve told her I’d only go there if I lost a bet.

[darth]

We provide a manufacturing service to over 200 customers spread over many industries. I have customers in oil/gas drilling, petrochem, aerospace, industrial supplies, gate hardware, marine supplies, automotive, and other industries.

Aerospace got hit hard beginning a year ago. Oil/gas is up because some of the hardware is going to the BP cleanup.

However, I can tell from the number of orders in-house how the economy is doing. The number of bids I make indicates where the economy is going. The number of desperate men coming by looking for work has increased too.

[mad_as_he$$]

Thanks, sounds like you are diversified enough to tell the big picture. That is always helpful.

GOOD LUCK (and good managing your business).