Several of the major energy-producing states face economic pressures in the coming year from both the global virus outbreak and the oil and gas price collapse. It's possible that in some energy states the effects of the oil and gas…
The U.S. Department of Energy’s latest adjustment to its U.S. crude oil outlook reflects the confounding set of conditions driving the oil markets. Domestic oil production is now expected to fall steadily through
The ongoing drop in the number of drilling rigs searching for crude oil now exceeds the collapse in natural gas rigs suffered back in the 2008-2009 period. Our pic of the week illustrates the similarity in size and pace between the respective oil and gas drilling collapses. Crude rigs are off
Oil is trying hard to bottom near $50/barrel, but inventory build-ups keep getting in the way. Our pic-of-the-week shows weekly commercial crude oil inventories in the U.S. and they keep getting larger and larger. Crude in storage managed to post an all-time high of 425.6 million barrels last week. Not only does this extend the uptrend but it also represents a bounce well above the trend.
Weak Gasoline Sales Weighing on Retail Activity but Aiding Consumers. Retail sales at gasoline stations have remained stuck in a holding pattern since early 2011 at about $45 billion per month. Strong domestic crude production coupled with only a modest rebound in vehicle miles driven continue to put steady downward pressure on gasoline prices, and, subsequently, total purchases. Measured as a share of all retail sales, gasoline station sales have declined steadily from just below 12% in early 2011 to only about a 10% share currently.