By Felix Imonti
http://oilprice.com/
Saudi Arabia has gone on the offensive against Iran to protect its interests. Their involvement in Syria is the first battle in what is going to be a long bloody conflict that will know no frontiers or limits.
As Venezuela becomes an importer of petroleum despite its large reserves, some are concerned that the country is losing a sizable amount of petroleum to smugglers along the border with Colombia.
China's apparent oil demand rose 2.4% year on year in July to 38.92 million metric tons (mt), or an average 9.2 million barrels per day (b/d), a just-released Platts analysis of recent Chinese government data showed. This is a rebound from June’s first monthly contraction in more than three years.
Okay, call me a spoilsport, but as much as we all might wish otherwise, there really is no free energy lunch. Not so long as much or more needs to be put in to get it than it yields, that removes more valuable land and other resources from more beneficial uses than it is worth, that isn’t reliably available in sufficient quantities when and where needed, that promises highly debatable environmental advantages, that costs consumers lots more than “nonrenewable” alternatives, and whose sustainability depends upon endless government mandates and subsidies.
There's good reason to be both optimistic and cautious as we ring in the New Year. Four economic indicators, eight opinions: Are you a bull or a bear?
[[wysiwyg_imageupload:2420:]]By Frank Holmes
Oil markets took another dose of global geopolitics this week when the International Energy Agency (IEA) unexpectedly announced that it would be releasing 60 million barrels of oil from strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) around the globe. Thursday's surprise announcement gave oil prices a 4.5 percent hair cut and oil prices closed Friday at $91.25, down 20 percent from their April 29 peak.
[[wysiwyg_imageupload:2405:]]By Chris Vermeulen
Everyone knows people make mistakes when rushed to do something or if they are scared of something bad happening. We also know fear and greed is what moves the market each month, week, day and tick… So when the majority of investors are selling their shares at the same time you must recognize the psychology behind it and prepare for a low risk trading opportunity in the days that follow.
Global oil supply needs to increase by 500,000 barrels to 1 million barrels a day in the next several months to meet demand, an oil official from a Middle East nation said six days before OPEC meets.
The head of Venezuela's state oil giant Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) said the "imperialist" United States could "go to hell" after it slapped sanctions on the company over alleged ties to Iran.
[[wysiwyg_imageupload:2374:]]By JW Jones
In doing some brief reading around the blogosphere I have noticed that most pundits are writing off gold, silver, and oil entirely. In fact, I have even read that the selloff is just beginning in precious metals and energy. In addition to the bearish traders, it seems as though even more traders are expecting some period of consolidation. Lower prices and a period of consolidation make sense, but what I am more interested in at this stage is a clear setup that offers solid risk / reward.
