Morning Petrospective – February 3, 2012. Oil prices were mixed to lower yesterday as investors waited for this week’s biggest event – the monthly unemployment figures from the Department of Labor. Its weekly report was out yesterday, after ADP’s Wednesday “preview,” and it showed jobless claims down last week, falling by 12,000 to 367,000. [More]

Morning Petrospective – February 2, 2012. Oil prices were mostly lower on Wednesday, as traders pushed crude oil prices to their weakest finish in a month, primarily on a large build in crude oil inventories. This week’s Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Information Administration (EIA) Statistical Review showed a build of 4.175 million barrels. [More]

Morning Petrospective – February 1, 2012. The oil complex was mixed again on Tuesday, with refined products higher and crude oil prices lower. This has become a mini-trend, with activity last Tuesday and Friday also following this same blueprint. [More]

Morning Petrospective – January 31, 2012. The oil complex was lower on Monday, with prices giving us the reverse of what we had seen on Friday. Yesterday, gasoline prices fell the most yesterday, followed by heating oil, and then by crude oil. We had decent long liquidation after Iran decided to admit UN IAEA nuclear inspectors to its uranium-enriching facilities. [More]

Morning Petrospective – January 30, 2012. Oil prices were led higher on Friday by gasoline prices, which have led the oil complex higher regularly recently, despite some very poor demand numbers, which have been released recently. It has been a most peculiar element in this market that some of the poorest demand figures ever seen should coincide with such strong prices. [More]

Morning Petrospective – January 27, 2012. The oil complex was higher yesterday, with all segments of the market slightly higher. Heating oil prices were proportionately the highest or the strongest, but all three major contract groups were higher yesterday. [More]

Morning Petrospective – January 25, 2012. The oil complex was mixed yesterday and crude oil prices were lower while refined products were higher. The US dollar was stronger and the euro was weaker, and those influences pushed crude oil and gold prices lower yesterday. [More]

Morning Petrospective – January 24, 2012. As expected, Europe was the center of attention yesterday, although it was not as powerful an influence as we had expected it would be. The EU did vote to implement an embargo against Iranian oil imports, as had been widely anticipated. [More]

Morning Petrospective – January 23, 2012. The oil complex was lower on Friday as traders reacted to the markets’ inability, collectively, to build on technical successes earlier in the week (last week). [More]

Morning Petrospective – January 19, 2012. Crude oil prices were slightly lower yesterday, along with heating oil quotes. Gasoline prices were higher, and yet another refinery serving the Northeast announced it will be closing. [More]