Biggest drop in U.S. oil demand in 26 years

Reuters ^

[Sub-Driver]

Biggest drop in U.S. oil demand in 26 years Tue Aug 12, 2008 2:53pm EDT

By Tom Doggett

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. oil demand during the first half of 2008 fell by an average 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) compared with the same period a year ago, the biggest volume decline in 26 years, the Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday.

In its latest monthly energy forecast, the EIA said the huge drop in demand was due to slower U.S. economic growth and the impact of high petroleum prices.

[maine-iac7]

I rode it...

HE rode it...

[listenhillary]

Did you use a kit or home brewed?

[MrB]

I thought it was my fault -

I had my tire pressure checked/filled the other day.

According to the Messiah, that brought down the price of gas.

[meatloaf]

The economists must have flunked history. The same thing happened in 1972. If history repeats we’ll see a two year drop in demand.

[NVDave]

With refiners running at the capacity they are, and crude supplies now declining in Mexico, Russia, etc... the short sellers might take it down in the short term (like for the next two months). There has been a savage run-up, much of which has been due to speculation in oil. I’d reckon that unless the economic numbers turn around on the head of a pin, we’re going to very likely see oil break under $100, and quite possibly under $90.

I don’t see that being the case in the long term (4 years+), unless the demand destruction really hammers both the US and BRIC economies to a point where demand falls back under comfortable world-wide production.

[LegendHasIt]

Well, I don't have a current photo; I still have a few more 'aesthetic' modifications to make on the current version, but the project has been sort of documented HERE.

This was a very long and expensive project in that I made quite a few mistakes that cost pretty big money to fix, and a very complicated design, as it is two wheel drive. built with the intention for being primarily an off-road vehicle.

You can buy a COMPLETE, ready to run, electric bike at walmart.com for $350, that would do for light transportation for an average person, for less than what I spent on just my motors... Lets not even get into what I have spent on batteries and electronics.

Lots of other great information on other electric vehicles at that site; retail ones, as well as home made hotrods that will leave mine in the dust.

My next project is building an electric trike for hauling groceries (and firewood, so I can heat one room of the house), after the next President completely destroys the oil companies and therefore the entire economy.

Wave of the future folks.
UNFORTUNATELY. (I do love my gasoline vehicles...AND "Big Oil"... I'm not an eco-nut like most E-vehicle people.
Although I DO very much enjoy the quiet that comes with riding a non-geared hubmotor bicycle.
Get yours now, while supplies last.

(I'm kind of serious about that; already getting difficult to buy even though the factories are cranking them out as fast as they can... US and Canadian demand has quadrupled in the last few months.)

Just don't try doing it the way I did, unless you LIKE frustration.

[Gorzaloon]

My brother had a ‘motor’ bike in the early ‘50’s. A Columbia, I think. I rode it through 20 miles of mountains to school and back - it had a gas tank that held about a quart of gas.

Two of my friends in High School had Whizzer motorbikes..I guess they were WWII or post WWII vintage. A huge ring-shaped pulley mounted on the rear spokes made of stamped sheet metal, and a 1 cylinder 4-Stroke of about 5 HP.

There were also VeloSolexes, with a microscopic 2-Stroke mounted on the front fork with a rubber drivewheel that ran against the front tire.

They were fun. The Whizzer had a compression release, so you could pedal the heavy Schwinn and get it rolling then slam the valve shut to get it started.

Maybe they will come back. There is a hub-mounted electric motorized front wheel that can be dropped into contemporary bikes now.

[decimon]

Your U-Haul is properly inflated but your Suzuki is riding on its rims.

[LegendHasIt]

Ping to my #26 post above.

[SAJ]

Well, that plus CFTC reclassifying certain index specs from 'commercials' to 'speculators' (which always should have been the case, btw) and forcing liquidation of roughly 300 million bbl-equivalent in crude futures. Absent a crisis of supply, spot MUST follow futures or else there would be a locked arbitrage.

That's the good news. The other good news is that there are at least another 500 million bbls of futures ctrcts in spec hands that should (at least) be reclassified, and thus forced to be liquidated. Don't think that'll happen until after the election, though -- and if Osamabama gets in, likely won't happen at all.

[LegendHasIt]

The Whizzers HAVE come back.

You can buy replica kits pretty cheaply, and there is even a company here in my little town, with a long waiting list, that builds HIGH quality, high buck custom replicas.

I’d go electric though if doing it for practical use.

[Let's Roll]

I’m concerned that the drop will last just long enough for the @#$%& congress critters to be re-elected and then we will really be screwed as they will have two years to destroy this country.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From MW:

EIA expects lower oil prices as demand eases

************************EXCERPT*********************

Crude oil prices are expected to average $119 a barrel this year, the EIA, the Energy Department's statistics arm, said in an August forecast. That was down from the EIA's July forecast of $127 a barrel.

[TexasGunLover]

No no... the liberals here on FR will tell you that supply and demand has nothing to do with the price of oil... it’s big, evil oil, and investors (also known by liberal nutcases as speculators). /sarcasm

[marron]

If demand is dropping that sharply, you can bet the economy is likewise contracting.

It even more proves the point. We are sending half a trillion dollars a year out of the country. That money could and ought to be spent here. If it didn’t lower the price of oil one thin dime it should still be spent here.

The difference in the economy between sending half a tril out of the country versus feeding it into home-grown contractors and investors and workers is all the difference in the world.

[WellyP]

If we can cut another 400,000 bpd we can tell Hugo Chavez to go suck an egg!

[SierraWasp]

"we can tell Hugo Chavez to go suck an egg!"

Well, he's nothing but a Commie Suck-Egg Dog, anyways!!! (grin)

[Titus-Maximus]

What about retail sales - in the tank as people refuse to spend gas dollars to shop. Their nums stink and expect layoffs. So what happens, we sit in the dark and watch the economy contract - exactly what the psycho Dem environmentalists want you to do!

Drill Now!

[Marine_Uncle]

A lot can happen to effect the price of crude as we all know. Next years projection of 133 per barrel (per your reference) would still be much higher then a lot of us would have hoped would come to past.
Obviously the only way out of this mess is for all the factors many of us keep harping on to be allowed to come into play, with the least federal/state intervention as possible.
The clowns that continue to state "it would take ten years", etc., must be finally put out of office or subdued by a growing number of concerned congressional representatives.
The bastards have hog tied this nation for to many years. It is a wonder we are not paying six or more bucks per gallon at this point.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Ernest for both pings.

Oil fundamentals ease as prices hurt demand: IEA ( That’s World Wide Folks)
MarketWatch | Aug. 12, 2008 2:28 p.m. EDT | Moming Zhou, MarketWatch
Posted on 08/12/2008 1:18:34 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2060721/posts

[the extra production is still pretty thin, one bump in the road like a refinery fire, and...]