Crude Oil Prices Fell Wednesday
Crude Oil Prices fell Wednesday, pulled down by a retreat in gasoline futures prompted by the partial reopening of a Gulf Coast shipping channel closed last week after an oil spill.
Oil prices remain about 23 % higher than a year ago, propped up by strong global demand and geopolitical worries such as violence in Nigeria, the war in Iraq and Iran‘s diplomatic showdown with the West over its nuclear program.
Before Wednesday‘s decline, gasoline futures had risen by almost 20 cents a gallon over the past week following the closure of the Calcasieu Ship Channel, where a cleanup is underway following an oil spill at a Citgo Petroleum Corp. refinery in Lake Charles, La.
But on Wednesday the Coast Guard said the channel had been partly reoponed, raising hopes that normal traffic could resume as early as this weekend. Limited tug and barge traffic continues to move through an intercoastal waterway.
A Coast Guard spokesman said the ship channel could remain mostly closed through the end of the week, depending on how the cleanup proceeds.
Over the past four weeks, daily gasoline demand was up 0.9 percent at 9.4 million barrels a day.
However, with refineries boosting the amount of oil they produce, Evans said the market is well supplied.
Merrill Lynch expects "severe supply bottlenecks" to persist for another two years, though it said with crude oil inventories rising around the globe OPEC may need to cut production next year.
Iran is OPEC‘s No. 2 producer of oil, and traders are worried about the outlook for those supplies.
Oil prices remain about 23 % higher than a year ago, propped up by strong global demand and geopolitical worries such as violence in Nigeria, the war in Iraq and Iran‘s diplomatic showdown with the West over its nuclear program.
Before Wednesday‘s decline, gasoline futures had risen by almost 20 cents a gallon over the past week following the closure of the Calcasieu Ship Channel, where a cleanup is underway following an oil spill at a Citgo Petroleum Corp. refinery in Lake Charles, La.
But on Wednesday the Coast Guard said the channel had been partly reoponed, raising hopes that normal traffic could resume as early as this weekend. Limited tug and barge traffic continues to move through an intercoastal waterway.
A Coast Guard spokesman said the ship channel could remain mostly closed through the end of the week, depending on how the cleanup proceeds.
Over the past four weeks, daily gasoline demand was up 0.9 percent at 9.4 million barrels a day.
However, with refineries boosting the amount of oil they produce, Evans said the market is well supplied.
Merrill Lynch expects "severe supply bottlenecks" to persist for another two years, though it said with crude oil inventories rising around the globe OPEC may need to cut production next year.
Iran is OPEC‘s No. 2 producer of oil, and traders are worried about the outlook for those supplies.
posted by Ottawa Gas Prices | 9:44 PM
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