Oil again below $36/barrel

VIENNA- Surging crude inventories and investor skepticism over the U.S. stimulus package dragged oil prices below $36 per barrel Thursday.

Investors seemed more wary than relieved after U.S. lawmakers finally agreed overnight to a $790 billion stimulus bill designed to pull the economy out of recession.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery fell 53 cents to $35.41 a barrel by midday in Europe on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.61 overnight to settle at $35.94.

U.S. crude oil inventories have jumped in recent weeks as rising unemployment erodes spending on gasoline.

A weekly report Wednesday from the Energy Information Administration showed that crude inventories jumped by 4.7 million barrels for the week ended Feb. 6, more than an increase of 3.4 million barrels expected by analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

Including last week's build up, crude inventories have swelled by more than 30 million barrels in the past six weeks.

Cincy Fan 44 wrote:...one would think that with the oil price being this low, gas would be around $1.40~$1.50...

LTRT wrote:

Cincy Fan 44 wrote:...one would think that with the oil price being this low, gas would be around $1.40~$1.50...

And it should, if not lower...I believe it was Card who compared the price at the pump during the run-up on oil vs the decrease in crude oil prices.

Cincy Fan 44 wrote:

LTRT wrote:

Cincy Fan 44 wrote:...one would think that with the oil price being this low, gas would be around $1.40~$1.50...

And it should, if not lower...I believe it was Card who compared the price at the pump during the run-up on oil vs the decrease in crude oil prices.

I miss Card's insight sometimes...