Posted on 08/29/2006 7:07:13 AM PDT by shrinkermd
LONDON (AP) -- Oil prices fell below $70 a barrel Tuesday as Tropical Storm Ernesto veered away from the oil and gas region of the Gulf of Mexico, easing concern that output would be disrupted. Light sweet crude for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 85 cents to $69.76 a barrel in electronic trading by afternoon in Europe. It last traded below $70 on Aug. 18.
The fall extended a $1.90 drop on Monday, when it settled at $70.61.
October Brent crude at London's ICE Futures exchange dropped 86 cents to $69.96 a barrel.
Royal Dutch Shell PLC said it plans to return workers to rigs and platforms in the Gulf of Mexico after Ernesto, which struck southern Cuba yesterday, moved northeast on its way to Florida and South Carolina. That means the storm will bypass the eastern and central gulf, where most U.S. offshore oil and natural-gas facilities are located.
Concerns about threats to supply were further eased when BP PLC said it had restored output from its Prudhoe Bay field in Alaska to about 200,000 barrels a day, half the daily production capacity.
The partial production shutdown at the giant Prudhoe Bay field in the U.S. state of Alaska is expected to make an impact on U.S. oil inventory statistics due Wednesday.
U.S. commercial crude stocks are expected to have fallen by an average 1.2 million barrels in the week to Aug. 25, a Dow Jones Newswires survey of eight analysts showed.
Gasoline inventories likely drew 900,000 barrels as the country approaches the end of the summer driving season, while distillate stocks, comprising heating oil and diesel, probably rose 1.2 million barrels, the survey showed.
Traders also remain watchful of other market movers, such as Iran's stand-off with the West over its nuclear program.
Traders are concerned that Iran, the world's fourth-biggest oil producer, could block oil exports if the United Nations imposes sanctions over its nuclear program. Tehran faces a Wednesday deadline to halt uranium enrichment or face possible economic and diplomatic sanctions, but has so far refused any immediate suspension of its nuclear program.
"Moving in the international framework is not a matter of concern for us," government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham said Monday.
Iran is a leading global oil exporter and has made threats in recent months to choke off the Strait of Hormuz -- where some 20 percent of the world's supply passes through every day -- in retaliation for sanctions.
In other Nymex trading, natural gas futures declined 28.2 cents to $6.190 per 1,000 cubic feet, while gasoline futures rose marginally to $1.7910 a gallon, and heating oil futures rose 0.1 cent to $1.9660 a gallon.
Incomes are up for the first time in six years. Prices are down in the past couple months. We should be ready to party come Nov elections. Yay!
"The topical question should be whether this price drop will eventually cause a recession in the oil industry."
I think it would have to go below $50 a barrel to hurt the oil industry as far as drilling and refining goes.
A $15 drop will sting the day traders, but they produce nothing that will power a car or heat a home.
Ah, but today's $1 drop could be only the first step to a catastrophic move to $50. At this rate the oil industry will be out of business by Thanksgiving.
You are so good at this.
Is that per gallon?
lol!!
You'll see.
Everyone! On the count of 3........1.......2.........3
awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
If you really believe that you should put your money on it. December 2007 oil futures are at %75. Think of the money you can make. Or maybe the people who buy and sell oil for a living know a little bit more, you decide.
CLZ7 - CRUDE OIL December 2007 (NYMEX)
http://quote.barchart.com/quote.asp?sym=CLZ07&code=BSTK
http://charts3.barchart.com/chart.asp?sym=CLZ7&data=A&jav=adv&vol=Y&evnt=adv&grid=Y&code=BSTK&org=stk&fix=
per WSJ today US gasoline supply is now 13% imported
up from 8% in 2000
India building a huge refinery with 40% targeted for US shipment
no refineries built in US in 30 yrs
Putie got a spanking in 2004 for F'ing with Ukraine and oil went down to $36 in December.
I think he needs another spanking for gang F'ing with Syria and Iran.
I've noticed this as well. One of my cars requires premium and now I have to watch which stations I use. I like one particular brand (Quick Trip) but they are charging 0.25-.29 over the regular so I don't shop there in that car.
My car specifies premium but I've never put a drop of premium in it from new. Many cars that specify premium will run just fine on regular unleaded -- just try it, if they do not ping, you are not doing any harm to your engine, and saving beaucoup bucks.
BTW, if you have a Costco nearby, I discovered when I had a vehicle that needed to be decarbonized from sitting too much, from running it just prior to decarbonizing the engine, that Costco gasoline, both regular and premium seemed always to cause way less pinging than any other brands I tried. Therefore, obviously, it is of a higher octane ...
No completely new refineries, but we continue expand and upgrade the ones we have. Not enough granted, but it is not like we are sitting still.
People are buying small cars and ditching their trucks.
People who need trucks are buying these used trucks instead of new.
pretty much everything built in the last 10 years has a knock sensor which retards timing in the presence of knock
you may get better mileage with premium if the engine has high enough compression ratio to require it
but likely not enough to justify the added cost
You think movie prices are bad.
Babs is charging 600 dollars a ticket for a performance in Columbus and 750 dollars in philly.
Now there is serious price gouging and a monopoly that needs to be regulated to boot.
I hope the couple hundred democrats who turn out for it get their money's worth, LOL
In your dreams.
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