Thursday, August 21, 2008

Whither Gasoline Prices?

They seemed to have reached an inflection point of some sort, but whether they go up again, or continue down, is quite uncertain:
Crude futures fell as low as $112.61 a barrel early today after the government said U.S. oil inventories last week jumped 9.39 million barrels, to an 11-week high of 305.9 million -- another sign that there’s no shortage of supply.

But prices rebounded later in the session, and the September futures contract closed up 45 cents at $114.98 a barrel, the second straight gain. Oil hasn't been up for two consecutive days since mid-July.

The market got a psychological boost from Goldman, Sachs & Co. after the brokerage’s commodities analysts reiterated their prediction that crude would rebound to $149 a barrel by the end of the year. ... Also, some traders were noting that U.S. gasoline inventories slid for a fourth straight week to the lowest totals since November. Refineries have been operating at relatively low levels, necessitating a drawdown of gasoline stocks. But with the summer driving season ending that hasn’t been worrying the market much.

...Is this the end of the slide? Market bears expect oil demand in the developed world to continue to weaken given the economy’s struggles, and they say that should put additional downward pressure on prices.

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