Falling gasoline supplies as the peak summer driving season approaches gave the energy market another boost higher this morning, with prices making new 2009 highs.
While some officials blame speculators for the run up in prices — and to a certain extent they're correct — improving fundamentals and seasonal trends are at work, too. This morning's weekly Petroleum Inventory showed another steep drop in gasoline stocks, taking supplies to five-year lows for this time of year. While demand remains lower than last year due to the recession, the tightening inventory is enough to cause prices to move higher.
The government said gasoline stocks fell 4.3 million barrels in the latest week, which doesn't include cutbacks from this week's East Coast refinery fire. The official report was less of a drop than predicted by Tuesday's survey by the American Petroleum Institute, but more bullish that industry analysts.
Check out the complete Weekly Energy Review.
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