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Peak Oil Review – December 31, 2012

“This week the oil markets have been dominated by the course of negotiations in Washington over the fiscal cliff. Prices surged on Wednesday following news that President Obama was returning from vacation in an attempt to revive the stalled negotiations. By Friday’s close NY oil prices were up about 2.4 percent for the week to settle at $90.80 with London oil settling at $110.62…”

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Peak Oil Review – December 24, 2012

“The gradual price increases which took oil up some $4-5 a barrel in the last two weeks ended on Friday when budget negotiations in Washington broke down. This news sent prices down $1.20-$1.40 a barrel to settle at $88.66 in NY and $108.97 in London…”

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Peak Oil Review – December 17, 2012

“Oil traded in a narrow range last week with NY hovering around $86 a barrel and London $21 higher around $108 for most of the week. Prices climbed 84 cents in NY on Friday and $1.78 in London where Brent closed at $109.15 on the news of increased manufacturing in the US and China. NY oil has now fallen about 12 percent during 2012 due to the glut in the Midwest, while London oil has now climbed 1.6 percent this year…”

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Peak Oil Review – December 10, 2012

“Oil prices fell last week on bad economic news from the EU and US, the uncertainty in Washington over the “fiscal cliff” negotiations, slumping gasoline and heating oil prices, and by a weaker euro. Brent crude which on Monday was trading above $112 a barrel closed Friday at $107.02. New York crude fell about $3 a barrel during the week to close at $85.93…”

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Peak Oil Review – December 3, 2012

“Oil prices were little changed last week, but managed to close out November a few dollars higher than the October closing thereby registering the first monthly increase since August. New York futures ended the week at $88.91 and London at $111.23. Better economic news, including higher US GDP numbers, offset concerns about the coming “fiscal cliff” and bad economic news from the EU…”

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Peak Oil Review – November 26, 2012

“With the Gaza cease-fire announced Wednesday still holding, the markets were quieter later in the week. On Friday prices increased a bit due to some better economic news from Germany and a stronger dollar. Oil closed at $88.28 in NY, up about 1.6 percent for the week, and at $111.38 in London. With the spread between NY and London oil holding at around $23 a barrel, most analysts do not foresee much change in the immediate future…”

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Peak Oil Review – November 19, 2012

“A week that began with the markets’ attention focused on the Greek bailout, concerns about the global economy and the US’s fiscal cliff, ended with a major upswing in Middle Eastern violence which some fear could result in constraints on oil exports. For much of the week fears for the economy kept prices edging down, but on Friday as the exchanges of rocket fire and air strikes between Gaza and Israel increased, the markets moved higher with NY oil closing at $86.67 and London at $108.96…”

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Peak Oil Review – November 12, 2012

“The re-election of President Obama and Democratic gains in Senate seats sent oil futures in NY tumbling by $4.27 a barrel Wednesday. Behind the selloff were concerns that a divided government could take the country over the “fiscal cliff” in January reducing the demand for oil. London oil fell by a similar amount on Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday, however, oil rebounded to close out the week about a dollar higher in NY at $86.07 and $109.40 in London…”

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Peak Oil Review – November 5, 2012

“Oil prices remained stable for most of last week with NY oil climbing a dollar or so and London oil falling about the same. On Friday however a number of factors came together to send NY oil down $2.23 a barrel to close Friday at $84.86. London also fell, closing at $105.64, down $2.53. These were the lowest settlement prices in both markets since last July. The downward pressure came in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy when it became apparent that two major refineries with a combined capacity of 308,000 b/d, which were shut down for the storm, could not resume operations immediately.”

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Peak Oil Review – October 29, 2012

“After falling rapidly for nearly a week, oil prices stabilized on Thursday and Friday with NY oil closing at $86.28 and London at $109.55. The two week price drop which stemmed mainly from concerns about economic prospects took NY oil down about $7 a barrel and London down some $5. By week’s end, concerns over the disruptions that Hurricane Sandy will cause to the five refineries located in its path, producing 600,000 b/d, pushed up gasoline and heating oil prices taking crude with it. Heating oil supplies in the NY area are far below normal levels so prolonged closure of refineries accompanied by colder weather will likely lead to a price surge…”

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Peak Oil Review – October 22, 2012

“Oil traded in a narrow range until Friday when an accumulation of economic problems ranging from weak demand, growing inventories, and a seeming lack of progress at the EU summit meeting sent prices down more than $2 a barrel. The futures market closed out the week at $90.05 a barrel in NY and $110.14 in London. Widespread pessimism about the global economy coupled with a lack of any immediate threats to Middle Eastern oil supplies are believed responsible for Friday’s decline…”

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Peak Oil Review – October 15, 2012

“Oil prices jumped about two dollars on Tuesday as Turkish-Syrian tensions increased, but remained relatively steady for the rest of the week with Brent closing down $1 on Friday at $114.62 a barrel and NY down to $91.86. The IEA’s new forecast of slightly lower oil demand for 2012 and 2013 helped send prices down on Friday. The IMF now is forecasting that world economic growth will be only 3.3 percent this year and 3.6 next year, adding to the pressure. Europe continues to grapple with the Greek and Spanish debt problems amid growing concerns that another global recession is in the offing…”

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Peak Oil Review – October 8, 2012

“It was a volatile week with oil prices falling some $3.50 a barrel on Tuesday, recovering on Wednesday, and falling again on Friday. At week’s end NY oil ended down a couple of dollars for the week at $89.88 and London ended largely unchanged at $112.02. These moves widened the spread between NY and London oil to $22.14, the widest in almost a year largely due to increasing US production. Declining production from the North Sea suggests that the Brent benchmark may become less relevant as a gauge of global oil’s value in the future. Except for the refining situation in California, oil supplies in the US are adequate, with domestic production the highest in 16 years at 6.5 million b/d, weak demand of 18.3 million b/d, and crude stockpiles up 8.4 percent from last year…”

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Peak Oil Review – October 1, 2012

“After a two week decline of nearly $10 a barrel, oil prices reversed last week and climbed a little on Thursday and Friday leaving NY oil at $92.19 and London at $112.39. Despite the steep decline in September, oil prices still registered the biggest quarterly increase this year on concerns that Middle Eastern problems could disrupt oil supplies. Higher gasoline prices also contributed to the increase. Friday saw an unusual short squeeze on the closing October gasoline contract in NY which sent prices up 19 cents to close at $3.34 a gallon. The sudden surge was technical in nature as one or more traders scrambled to cover short positions before the contract expired…”

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Peak Oil Review – September 24, 2012

“After falling by nearly $8 a barrel during trading on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, prices recovered a bit on Thursday and Friday to close at $111.42 in London and $92.89 in N.Y. The drop came after nearly 3 months of steady gains and was likely related to talk of an SPR release, assurances from the Saudis that they will keep up production, and an unexpected drop in US crude inventories on Wednesday.”

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Peak Oil Review – September 17, 2012

“Oil prices rose steadily last week on the expectation, then the news, that the US Federal Reserve was going to resume quantitative easing by buying $40 billion of mortgage-backed securities a month for an indeterminate period. The open-endedness of the program came as a surprise and at one point NY oil futures briefly topped $100 a barrel, but slid back to close at $99…”

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Peak Oil Review – September 10, 2012

“Oil prices were little changed at the end of the four-day trading week. NY and London futures finished with small weekly losses after a surge of more than 9 percent in August. Brent closed at $114.25 a barrel and NY at $96.42. Much of the impetus for market moves last week came in anticipation of large government financial bailouts on both sides of the Atlantic…”

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Peak Oil Review – September 3, 2012

“Oil prices were little changed for the week: first climbing on the threat posed by hurricane Isaac; then falling as the hurricane proved to be less of a danger to oil production; and finally recovering on Friday as Fed Chairman Bernanke hinted that the US might have to launch a stimulus program. Such a program would likely weaken the dollar, thereby boosting oil prices. NY oil futures closed at $96 and London at $114, a dollar or so below recent highs.”

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Peak Oil Review – August 27, 2012

“After climbing a dollar or so a barrel by mid-week, oil prices slipped on Friday to close largely unchanged, with NY crude at $96 a barrel and London at $113. The number of factors now impacting oil prices seems to be increasing. Tending to pushing prices higher we have the Iranian sanctions and the threat of an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities prior to the US election…”

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Peak Oil Review – August 20, 2012

“Oil prices climbed $2-3 a barrel last week with NY oil closing at a three-month high of $96.01 and London’s Brent closing at $113.71. Increased saber-rattling in the Middle East, lower output from Iran and the North Sea, and the eternal hope that the US and EU governments will renew financial stimulus programs were behind the move. Brent crude traded above $116 a barrel on Thursday, but fell on profit taking and the news that the US was contemplating releases from its strategic petroleum stockpiles…”

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Peak Oil Review – August 13, 2012

“Brent crude, which is more susceptible to the Iranian sanctions and developments in the Middle East was up by some $5 a barrel last week to close just below $113 a barrel. NY oil, however, was only up a couple of dollars resulting in the Brent/West Texas spread widening to over $20 a barrel. The increase came despite a steady stream of bad economic news from much of the world. The shaky economic outlook led the IEA to reduce its oil consumption forecast for 2012 by 250,000 b/d to 89.6 million b/d…”

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Peak Oil Review – August 6, 2012

“Oil traded in a narrow range last week as the usual factors of faltering economies balanced off against the prospects for disruptions in Middle Eastern supplies. On Friday, however, NY prices jumped almost 5 percent after better-than-expected US employment numbers were released. The week closed with NY crude futures at $91.40 and London’s Brent at $108.94…”

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