Oil Fluctuates as Supplies Increase at Cushing Hub, Unrest Grows in Libya

[Purveyor]

Crude oil fluctuated in New York after supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark grade, surged and as Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi stepped up attacks on insurgents.

Futures rose as much as 0.9 percent before erasing gains as Cushing supplies climbed 1.69 million barrels to 40.3 million last week, the highest level since the Energy Department began gathering data at the hub. Oil climbed earlier as Libyan government forces launched air and artillery strikes on central oil ports to halt a rebel advance.

“Supplies have risen to a record at Cushing, which makes me want to stay away from crude,” said Kyle Cooper, director of research for IAF Advisors in Houston. “WTI has become its own little market, unrelated to what’s happening elsewhere.”

Crude oil for April delivery slipped 5 cents to $104.97 a barrel at 12:25 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract touched $106.95 on March 7, the highest intraday price since Sept. 26, 2008. Futures are up 29 percent from a year ago.

More...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-09/brent-crude-for-april-rises-on-libya-concern-merrill-lifts-price-forecast.html

[DJ13]

1. If ever there was a time we need real investigative journalism....

A few months back it was widely reported oil reserves were their highest in two decades, and I doubt there has been enough disruption in production to make a dent in that amount even now.

Yet here we are, with the speculators using fear tactics to drive prices of that two decades high supply back to the stratosphere by asserting that a country that presently only supplies 1.5% of the worlds oil could stop production due to unrest.

Yet the fear mongers conveniently forget that no matter who is in charge of Libya oil is their only means of having an economy that can sustain itself, so any disruption of that 1.5% will be as short as possible.

This is where our MSM comes into play, they should be looking into the facts behind the current oil spike and let it be known its just another round of speculator driven bullshit.

[KamaAina]

2. Got speculators?

:eyes: