Oily Business

By Econ70 | 09/12/2013

Crude oil prices are up 6% since Syria took center stage on 8/21/13. They had already risen 15% in the prior four months due to rising demand and a 2.7 million barrels/day (bbl/d) reduction in supply in August. But traditionally, demand falls by 2.4 million bbl/d in Sept/Oct, reducing world demand to 75.9 million bbl/d.…

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Out of Gas

By Econ70 | 03/20/2012

While gasoline prices have risen dramatically, and now average $3.80 a gallon, its impact has been muted. This is because natural gas prices have collapsed, falling 42% from a year ago, due to abundant supply and an unusually warm winter. I estimate that collapsing natural gas prices have mitigated two-thirds of the run-up in gasoline…

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