However, we should not ignore the impact of the rising price of Crude Oil.
As of Wednesday's close,
Crude oil was $76.24 a barrel. That price came after three days of losses, reversed by falling U.S. crude stockpiles in the U.S.
As I type this, Crude is a hair under $77.
Futures: The front-month September light, sweet crude contract on the NY Mercantile closed settled up at $2.32 -- a 3.2% gain -- at $75.88 a barrel. This was "just shy of the 11-month closing high of $75.92 reached July 19."
The good news for motorists was reported by the WSJ: "Gasoline stockpiles rose by 800,000 barrels amid the highest-ever weekly gasoline imports. That compared with expectations of a 510,000-barrel gain. Distillates, which include heating oil and diesel, increased by 1.5 million barrels, twice as much as was forecast in a Dow Jones Newswires poll of market participants."
Source:
Crude Jumps to Almost $76
Futures Leap 3.2% As Stockpile Falls At Key Storage Hub
MATT CHAMBERS
WSJ, July 26, 2007; Page C6
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118537163781177567.html
