[BabyPeanut]

Crude Oil Rises in New York on Bigger-Than-Expected Supply Drop
Jan. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose in New York, extending yesterday's gain to a six-week high, after an Energy Department report showed a greater-than-expected drop in U.S. inventories.

Crude-oil stockpiles fell 3 million barrels to 288.8 million, the department said yesterday, leaving supplies at the lowest since the week ended Oct. 22. Fourteen analysts in a Bloomberg survey expected a decline of 1.9 million barrels, according to the median of forecasts. Imports have been below 10 million barrels a day for three weeks after 12 weeks of exceeding that level.

``Crude oil imports stayed below 10 million barrels a day for the third week in a row, the first time that this has happened for more than eight months apart from the period of extreme disruption caused by Hurricane Ivan,'' said Barclays Capital Inc. analysts Paul Horsnell and Kevin Norrish in a report.

Crude oil for February delivery rose as much as 20 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $46.57 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It traded at $46.52 a barrel at 7:17 a.m. Singapore time.

Yesterday, the contract rose 69 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $46.37, the highest since Nov. 11. It rose as high as $46.60.

``As long as imports stay below 10 million barrels we will continue to see crude stocks fall,'' said Carl Larry, an associate director of energy futures at Barclays Capital Inc. in New York. ``Supplies will probably dwindle as OPEC cuts production and attacks keep Iraqi oil off the market.''

Well, now what?

[BabyPeanut]

forgot the link

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... in_america

[Jack]

It surely is getting volatile...sorta like we're on the plateau...

[Grimnir]

First the stockpiles are smaller than expected, then larger than expected, then smaller again. Who's setting these expectations, and can we get a new guy?