This is alot of our problem as well..... It is a good article concerning our pockettes at the pump but does not help the push for bio... I think it"s the foriegn Oil Monguls lowering the price because they know we are heading toward fuel independency with the help of Companies like EVFL.. I read the article but what strikes me as funny is every time I go to the pump Its crowded and have to wait for my turn..... I live in SC. Unleaded is going for $2.09 a gallon right now. Deisel $2.15
Article below.....
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Crude oil futures ended below $60 a barrel for the first time in nearly two months Friday as the prospects for a resurgence in fuel demand looked increasingly bleak.
Light, sweet crude for August delivery settled 52 cents, or 0.9%, lower at $59.89 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, ending below $60 a barrel for the first time since May 19.
Oil's drop below $60 comes near the year anniversary of the peak of its scorching record runup. On July 11, 2008, benchmark oil futures hit an intraday high of $147.27 a barrel but then quickly made a precipitous turn south as evidence of a weakening global economy was emerging.
August Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange settled at $60.52 a barrel, down 58 cents, or 1%.
In the first half of this year, oil prices had risen for months on the prospect that U.S. vacationers would consume more gasoline over the summer. Many analysts also expected diesel demand to perk up along with the global economy at about the same time.
But demand for both fuels has remained stubbornly in the doldrums. Two major summer driving holidays have come and gone in the U.S. without a spike in gasoline demand, and the most recent employment and consumer-confidence data offer little hope for a quick and forceful resumption of growth.
Noting both trends, the International Energy Agency predicted Friday that global oil demand would contract by 2.9% this year. While the IEA expects a recovery in 2010, the Paris-based agency left the door open for 2009 to be even worse than currently expected.
"June is the month when gasoline demand should pick up in U.S. and it's a slightly worrying sign that we don't see that," said David Fyfe, editor of the IEA report. "If U.S. gasoline demand won't increase in July and August, we might revise downward our oil demand forecast for 2009."
The IEA already has downgraded this year's oil demand estimate several times.
Some drivers may be coaxed back onto the road by falling prices at the pump. Oil futures have dropped 16% since June 29, and a similar drop in retail gasoline prices would leave a gallon costing drivers about $2.20 on average, from $2.61 this week. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said last week that the national average price for the motor fuel has likely peaked for the summer.
It can take weeks for declines in the futures market to translate into lower retail prices. And with unemployment approaching 10%, there are plenty of Americans who will be unlikely to drive more even with cheaper gasoline.
"I don't know necessarily if prices go down 20 cents that people will say 'Let's change our vacation plans and go,'" said Brian Milne, a refined fuels editor for DTN, a market information service.
The outlook for diesel and other types of fuel doesn't look much better. Pessimism about the near-term performance of the world economy has taken hold in equities and commodities markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which ended Friday at 8,147, is close to its lowest point since April. Safe-haven investments have also gained traction as investors prepare for a longer-than-expected downturn, with the dollar strengthening against the euro on Friday to $1.3948.
Front-month August reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, settled 1.33 cents, or 0.8%, lower at $1.6505 a gallon. August heating oil settled 9 points, or 0.1%, lower at $1.5335 a gallon.
More information on settlements and highs and lows for futures on Nymex and ICE platforms can be found by searching for the following headlines:
Nymex Light Crude Oil Close
Nymex Harbor RBOB Gasoline Close
Nymex Heating Oil Close
ICE Brent Crude Oil Close
ICE Gas Oil Close
By Brian Baskin, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2453; brian.baskin@dowjones.com
