Prices fall, demand falls (and so do some exports)

摘要

Oil prices continued the steady decline they began in July and several upsets and emergencies failed to rally the market. Not even the loss of nearly 800,000 bpd of oil from Azerbaijan after its neighbour, Georgia was invaded by Russia was sufficient to halt the fall in crude oil prices worldwide. Moreover, that other harbinger of higher oil prices-a severe hurricane in the US Gulf-similarly failed to stimulate buying activity. Despite the shutting-in of 1.3 mn bpd of US oil production in advance of the arrival of Hurricane Gustav, prices of crude oil and refined products carried on falling, pushing New York gasoline prices below 3 a gallon for the first time since April and bringing WTI to just above 105/bbl at the beginning of September.