OIL PRICES * USA - Pelosi calls on Bush to draw down U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Speaker of the House says this measure would expand supplies, reduce prices

Washington,DC,USA -Logistics Management, by Jeff Berman -9 July 2008: -- In an effort to quell continually rising oil prices, United States Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi called on President George W. Bush to draw down a small portion of oil held in the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)... Pelosi wrote in a letter to Bush that this measure needs to be taken “in order to expand available supplies and reduce the record prices that are helping push the economy toward recession.”... The SPR is currently 97 percent full with 702 million barrels compared to 2006 when it held 688 million barrels, noted Pelosi. She also said that releasing oil from the SPR is a tool to manage the country’s national and economic security and when judiciously used will not jeopardize national security... American Trucking Associations (ATA)'s President Bill Graves, said that any policies the White House can implement to slowdown the spike in oil prices are needed. And he added that releasing oil from the SPR can be viewed as a major policy action. Crude oil inventories are not the problem, said Graves. But, he noted, “the oil market is no longer functioning on supply-and-demand fundamentals as many hedge funds drive up the price of crude based on based on speculation. We need something to break that chain, and a SPR release could do it.”... Even through it appears that politicians have good intentions to lower fuel costs, some industry experts contend that halting SPR petroleum acquisitions may not deliver what it promises... James Haughey, chief economist for Reed Construction Data, added that politicians understand that stopping the small amount of crude oil put in reserve will have a negligible impact on fuel prices but he explained that they hope it will have a big impact on their vote counts later this year... “This is politics not economics,” said Haughey...


* Oil spikes above $147 before ending day at $145.29

New York,NY,USA -The Associated Press/The Trucker, by MADLEN READ 11 July 2008: -- It's only July, but it might be time to start loading up on blankets and sweaters. Oil spiked to a new trading record as hostilities rise between the West and Iran — raising the likelihood that this winter's heating bills will be the priciest yet... Crude oil's brief jump past $147 a barrel Friday arrived not only as the United States and Israel view Iran as a growing threat, but also as the U.S. dollar fell and worries erupted over possible supply disruptions in two other major oil-producing nations: Nigeria and Brazil... (This year's winter heating bills will likely be priciest yet)


* Break In The Clouds?

San Francisco,CAL,USA -Logistics Management, by Patrick Burnson -1 July 2008: -- ... In searching for a silver lining in the current state of logistics, Rosalyn Wilson, an independent consultant and author of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals' (CSCMP) 19th Annual State of Logistics Report, points to the fact that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is outlining steps that will increase the transparency of the energy futures market and help to ensure that petroleum prices are once again driven by supply and demand... The CFTC says it will improve oversight of the energy futures market by expanding the amount and quality of information received from energy traders. Steps include expanding international surveillance information for crude oil trading; increasing the transparency of trading in U.S. energy markets; and continuing the CFTC's ongoing nationwide crude oil investigation... According to Wilson, another positive move has been for U.S. manufacturers to do less outsourcing overseas, and to concentrate more on hemispheric trade. “Mexico is going to become increasingly important to shippers in the coming years,” she says. “It's not just about making auto parts and apparel any more. Mexico has a booming electronics sector, and will become a major player on the R&D stage soon.”... One might assume, then, that building business relationships with cross-border partners would be key. But Wilson contends “that was so last century... Pricing power has shifted from carriers to shippers,” Wilson adds. “It's true that shippers will pay for extra fuel charges, but they are not willing to take a rate hike. And forget about relationships. That tag line is dead. Business is more provisional now, and it's all about cutting cost out of the system.”...