Well before Memorial Day weekend, U.S. motorists will spend more than $1.5-billion per day on gasoline. I still believe that world demand for crude is not exceeding supply, but maintain that paper demand for paper oil contracts is the primary culprit behind the surge.    Read More

Energy prices are flat. Gasoline prices have fallen. What country is the Labor Department talking about? Certainly not the U.S. or New York or Alaska or many other parts of the country where gasoline prices are near or have surpassed $4 a gallon.    Read More

Energy speculators are getting a bum rap. Instead of condemning them, they ought to be blessed, as impartial messengers of a greener future. That’s one key message in Goldman Sachs’s widely cited ‘Super Spike’ report issued Tuesday about oil prices very likely ramping to $150-200 per barrel, possibly by the time of the presidential elections.    Read More

This is crazy. Today's oil rally really doesn't make sense. There was no new headline about a major global supply disruption. There are reports Exxon has lifted "force majeure" on its exports of Nigeria crude.    Read More

Oil prices hit another new all-time high on the momentum ignited by two, very alarming words: Super Spike. In its latest report, Goldman Sachs predicted the possibility of oil reaching $150-$200 over the next 6-24 months. Remember, it was Goldman that ignited a firestorm in 2005 when Arjun Murti's team predicted oil would reach a then-outrageous...    Read More

Washington is on the warpath against high energy prices by going after excessive speculation in energy markets. Its latest efforts--closing the so-called ‘Enron loophole’ and just last week, siccing the Federal Trade Commission on energy markets--will either finally make a difference, or soon be exposed as another feckless, false promise to American consumers.    Read More

Is this a short-covering rally that's taken oil prices to another milestone over $120/barrel? Traders here on the NYMEX floor say it certainly feels like it. Traders and analysts will be sifting through Friday's open interest data to confirm whether pension funds were in fact largely responsible to $4 rally at the end of last week.    Read More

This is the last of three posts today from guest blogger Tom Kloza. Tom is Chief Oil Analyst at OPIS (Oil Price Information Service) and has his own blog. He has been writing about downstream oil markets since 1975 and was among the founders of OPIS over 25 years ago.    Read More

This is the second of three posts today from guest blogger Tom Kloza. Tom is Chief Oil Analyst at OPIS (Oil Price Information Service) and has his own blog. He has been writing about downstream oil markets since 1975 and was among the founders of OPIS over 25 years ago.    Read More

This is the first of three posts today from guest blogger Tom Kloza. Tom is Chief Oil Analyst at OPIS (Oil Price Information Service) and has his own blog. He has been writing about downstream oil markets since 1975 and was among the founders of OPIS over 25 years ago.   Read More