Crude Vaults to Alltime High
Apr 10th, 2008 | By Doug Casey | Category: Oil Investment & Alternative EnergyStockpile declines catch analysts flat-footed. In the energy market Wednesday, crude for May delivery skyrocketed to a new alltime high, closing at $110.87/barrel, up $2.37 after hitting an intraday high of $112.21. May reformulated gasoline rose 2.38 cents, to $2.7742/gallon.
Crude surged after the Energy Information Administration came in with some inventory surprises.
In its weekly stockpile report, the EIA said that crude was down 3.2 million barrels for the week ended April 4. That stunned analysts, whose consensus was for a 2.7 million barrel build.
“The hefty fall in crude oil stockpiles was a major shock for a market which was expecting the opposite,” wrote Martin Slaney, of GFT Global Markets U.K. “As we head into driving season in the U.S. the tumbling inventories data is particularly significant.”
Meanwhile, U.S. gasoline supplies fell 3.4 million barrels, while distillate supplies dropped 3.7 million barrels. Analysts had been anticipating declines of 2.3 million barrels for gasoline and 1.3 million barrels for distillates. Also, refineries operated at 83% of capacity last week, up from the previous week’s 82.4%.
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Doug Casey is a contrarian investor, sought-after public speaker and author of several books. His work "Crisis Investing" held the position of # 1 bestseller on the New York Times list for 26 consecutive weeks. Doug's unusual views on the economy - and just about everything else - have gained a huge following in the investment community, and it certainly helps that his stock recommendations of undervalued junior exploration companies have made his subscribers millions. Now in its 27th year, Doug's monthly newsletter, the International Speculator, is one of the most established and esteemed publications on gold, silver and other natural resource investments. Together with the Casey Energy Speculator, it covers a broad range of carefully selected stocks with the very real potential of double- and triple-digit returns within 12 to 24 months.