Analysts Lay Out Two Scenarios for 2010 Crude Prices
Bloomberg asked the oil analysts who had been most successful in predicting the price of crude oil in 2009 where oil prices would be headed next year, and two divergent scenarios come to the fore: the first sees crude staying high and looming in the $88-$92 range for the fourth quarter of 2010, while the [...]
Read More »
Heating Oil Price Preview: December 21, 2009
Last week’s inventory reports showed a large decline in stockpiles of distillates, which includes heating oil and diesel, and caused a spike in the price of heating oil. However, with refineries operating below 80 percent of their capacity, it’s not clear that the drawdown of distillates was due to increased demand.
The dollar’s recent resurgence has [...]
White House Supports $5 Billion More in Tax Credits for Alternative Energy
The Obama administration wants to offer $5 billion in tax credits to green technologies and jobs, particularly in the manufacturing sector, reports Bloomberg. Vice President Joe Biden announced the plan, which is an expansion of a program begun under the $787 billion economic recovery plan that President Obama launched in February. If Congress [...]
Read More »
Heating Oil Price Trend for December 17: +7¢
Oil prices surged on Wednesday after the EIA’s weekly inventory report showed a substantial decline in inventories of crude oil and distillates, which include heating oil and diesel. Stockpiles of crude dropped by 3.7 million barrels, while distillate inventories fell by 2.9 million barrels. Prices jumped as some investors took this drop in supplies [...]
Read More »
House Shuts Cash for Caulkers Out of New Jobs Bill
Despite President Obama’s most candid efforts to promote his “cash for caulkers” program, which he described in alluring language yesterday at a Home Depot in Virginia, Congress was not enticed, according to a report in Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal. The president’s proposal, which would provide cash rebates for home energy-efficiency renovations, is conspicuously missing from [...]
Read More »
Obama Talks Benefits of Home Energy Conservation at Home Depot
Standing in a Home Depot in Alexandria, Virginia, President Obama yesterday made known his most private thoughts on home weatherization. “I know the idea may not be very glamorous, although I get really excited about it,” the president said, according to ABC News. “Here’s what’s sexy about it: saving money.” Rather than ignite a Clintonian [...]
Read More »
Copenhagen Day 9: Negotiations Move Slowly, China Refuses International Emissions Monitoring, and Protests Turn Violent
As the ninth day of the Copenhagen climate talks draws to a close, time is running short, and delegates are feeling the pressure. As the New York Times reported Tuesday, there is still a huge rift between rich and poor nations, who are no closer than last week to reaching a deal on emissions targets, [...]
Read More »
Analysts: Enjoy Low Oil and Commodities Prices While They Last
It might be convincingly argued that financial markets operate according to an inverse law of gravity: What comes down must go up. In other words, when the prices of certain commodities sink, they will, like buoys, pop back up.
At least that’s what analysts claimed at last week’s Reuters Investment Summit, which convened in New York [...]
Where Will China Lead Oil Prices?
What happens with oil prices in the future depends a lot on what China does—how much oil will the country consume and how fast will that consumption grow?
For now, China’s demand is growing, and while it hasn’t raised oil prices yet it’s the best piece of evidence for those who think oil prices are on [...]
House Passes Financial Reform Bill That Includes Oil-Trading Regulations
Last Friday, the House of Representatives passed a bill that could radically strengthen financial regulation. As the New York Times reported, legislation containing the biggest changes in financial regulation since the Great Depression passed by a 223 – 202 party-line vote (all Republicans and 27 Democrats voted against the bill).
The bill still needs to [...]
Superior Plus Corp. Makes a Splash in the US Heating Oil Market–Who Are They?
With two major acquisitions of American heating oil companies this year (Sunoco in September and Griffith Energy Services in November), Canada’s Superior Plus Corporation has very quickly become a major force in the US heating oil industry. Here at HeatingOil.com we wanted to see what was behind Superior’s big moves and look into what they [...]
Read More »
Will Cash for Caulkers Work?
After finding success getting Americans to go green(er) with their cars in his Cash for Clunkers program, President Obama is trying a similar trick with the Cash for Caulkers push. The campaign, intended to encourage Americans to weatherize their homes, thereby conserving energy and creating jobs, is not without its critics, though. The Atlantic Wire [...]
Read More »
Tough Times Continue for US Biofuel Producers
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday about a report released this week by the National Biodiesel Board, which paints a grim picture for the future of the nascent biofuels industry if the Federal government does not extend the $1-per-gallon tax credit granted to producers in 2004. The credit is due to expire on December [...]
Read More »
Technical Analysis Points to Falling Oil Prices in January
Seeking Alpha, a prominent website that analyzes all things related to investing, has posted an entry suggesting that the price of crude oil will continue to fall in the upcoming weeks. The primary reason is due to the market fundamentals: supplies of oil are extremely high while demand is relatively low, as others have [...]
Read More »
Gulf of Mexico Continues to Reward Oil Producers
The Gulf of Mexico isn’t dead yet. Far from it.
So says the Houston Chronicle, which reported on Monday that oil companies have made 12 discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico over the past year, which equates to 1.5 billion barrels worth of oil. This marks the largest amount of oil finds in the region since [...]
Emissions Legislation Hindered by Partisanship and Other Priorities
While he came into office, President Obama pledged to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Supported by a Democratic majority in Congress, he had aggressive plans for fighting climate change. Now, however, he goes into the Copenhagen climate summit without U.S. carbon emissions legislation in hand, something few political observers would have predicted at the beginning of [...]
Read More »
Heating Oil Price Trend for December 8: -1¢
Oil prices fell on Monday as the dollar continued to rise. The dollar has been the primary factor moving oil prices in recent weeks, and a strong dollar diminishes the appeal of oil as a hedge against inflation. Signs of recovery in the US economy have contributed to the dollar’s rise, but that recovery has [...]
Read More »
Copenhagen: Preparations and Expectations
Editor’s Note: After literally years planning and shifting expectations, the Copenhagen Conference begins today and runs through December 18th. With so much at stake for the world and the country, HeatingOil.com has taken on the duty of providing daily Copenhagen Conference updates. Our reporter Kristy Kershaw will be bringing you the highlights of [...]
Read More »
Analyst Foresees High Oil Prices Forcing Better Energy Efficiency
By 2030, every new car in Japan will have to get 85 mpg in order to survive, says Morgan Downey in a guest blog posted Thursday on the Oil Drum. Downey reached this conclusion by deconstructing the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) 2009 World Energy Outlook (WEO). The IEA serves as energy advisor to the [...]
Read More »
Heating Oil Price Trend for December 7: -1¢
Encouraging employment numbers from the US boosted oil prices Friday morning, but a stronger dollar and concerns about bulging inventories brought crude and heating oil prices down by the end of trading on Friday. While positive economic news—like Friday’s jobs report—has supported oil prices in recent weeks, the dollar rose on Friday as investors worried [...]
Read More »