Posted on 03/10/2005 1:56:43 AM PST by M. Espinola
Crude oil prices hovered close to record highs on Wednesday following data showing another large fall in US heating oil inventories. Cold weather has left stockpiles at a relatively low level, creating a potentially tight market should another cold snap arrive in the US north-east.
The US Department of Energy said domestic distillate supplies, which include heating oil and diesel, slid by 800,000 barrels, with all of the decline occurring in heating oil. However, this was below market expectations of a 1.3m drawdown.
The report also shows commercial crude inventories rose by 3.2m barrels to 302.6m in the week ended March 4, the first time inventories have risen past the 300m-barrel level since July. Gasoline inventories dropped by a surprising 200,000 barrels.
European benchmark crude futures reached another record high for the second consecutive day. IPE Brent for April delivery peaked at $53.36 a barrel, exceeding the previous record by 6 cents. April Brent eased to $53.208, up 36 cents on the day, in late London trade.
April Nymex WTI gained 41 cents to $55.00 a barrel in early afternoon New York trade, just off its intraday high of $55.10, which was within striking distance of the nominal record peak of $55.67 reached in October.
US heating oil futures also nudged closer to the record high of $1.630 a gallon set in October, with the April Nymex heating oil contract reaching an intraday high of $1.5470 a gallon.
Gold hit a 2005 high for the second day in a row as the dollar weakened further against the euro. Bullion reached $441.50 a troy ounce, up $2 from the late quote in New York on Tuesday.
World refined copper usage exceeded production by 706,000 tonnes last year, almost double the 2003 shortfall, according to preliminary data from the International Copper Study Group (ICSG), which is an industry body for the copper industry.
Although China is commonly seen as the major driver of metals demand, its growth rate actually lagged the US and Japan last year, but was ahead of the European Union.
The ICSG said that at the end of February 2004, copper stocks held at the leading metal exchanges – the London Metal Exchange, Comex and the Shanghai Futures Exchange – totalled 139,245 tonnes, up 31,868 tonnes from the previous month. This provides a small buffer should there be a repeat this year of a production shortfall against consumption.
Copper remained near the 16-year high on Tuesday of $3,297 a tonne. It reached an intraday peak of $3,283 a tonne in London Metal Exchange trading.
Three-month LME aluminium nudged to a fresh 10-year high of $1,997 a tonne.
All graphics added
This chart looks at World Oil Reserves, comparing technical data with what some call 'political data.'
The upper green curve represents TECHNICAL DATA regarding world reserves proven and probable, backdated to the year of discovery, collected by Jean Laherrère " from the individual estimates of every field in the world outside the US (about 20,000 fields) and the USGS revised estimates of past US annual discoveries (about 30 000 fields). I have in my computer all 20,000 fields outside the US and the 400 US major oil fields (over 100 Mb)."
One last chart, showing comparative gasoline taxes in various nations. As of 2001.
USA gasoline tax is 40 cents per gallon. Here's the breakdown for one state, Florida: federal tax 18.4 cents, state tax 14.3 cents, county tax 7 cents - - total 39.7 cents.
Note European taxation is 5 times the USA rate.
However, it must be pointed out that government as a share of the economy is also higher in Europe than the USA.
And, Europe and Japan have no oil reserves of their own - - therefore their import ratios are also significantly higher than the USA.
Boy,.....thank ain't fair,......Britain wants the U.S.A. to hurry up and 'catch up!
/British colonies $$$$$$$$$$
/Colonies are 3rd world countries too!
/British Pound and the 'Blair' EU dollar!
/the EU 'Goldfinger-Plan' for the U.S.A.
Finally, 15 years too late, we might begin the drilling process and ANWR. I also suggest we start pounding away about tidal generators and windmills. A few fish and birds must be sacrificed for the sake of the 'fragile planet'. After all, population control groups promote abortion for the sake of the 'fragile planet'. Are birds and fish something sacred compared with humans?
We must also cut trees. Here's something a lot of people don't know. Huber, a local mill out here [makes excellent wood flooring] is a cutting edge plant. When they strip the bark off the logs, they use the tree bark and sawdust to generate power. If I'm not mistaken, they make all of their own power. We're talking tons of bark and sawdust. And with their filtering system, they do not pollute the air.
I propose this: we cut down half the national parks' trees for feul, bark and all, and replace those trees with grass fields. Doesn't grass produce more oxygen per acre than trees? I think I heard that on Rush once. We solve the energy crisis, reduce forest fires, and help the 'fragile planet'. After all, trees are not nearly as important as the 'fragile planet'.
Not only that, we might as well make special 'Limbaugh Golf Courses' in the national parks. Golf courses are an excellent way to reduce 'greenhouse gasses', even though they look so green and pretty.
Finally, since we have been willing to slaughter 40 million unborn here in our own country, we should extend that to other nations. In those poorest nations, where they pollute the world through home cooking fires [far more polluting than cars, BTW], logic would dictate that we send John F'ing Skerry to liquidate as many of them as possible. He's admitted he can do it. He's the most qualified American I know to do the job without turning around and killing post-born Americans.
Not only will that save our 'fragile planet', which is far more important than the most innocent of human life, it also keeps Kerry out of DC long enough for us to get drilling in ANWR.
/extreme sarcasm
PS: The last thing I want to do to the poor of this world is kill them. It takes a special man, like Kerry, to do something like that.
In terms of the gasoline tax, instead of catching up, I would rather lag very far behind when filling up.
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