Oil prices rising to $85 coincides with the 4 consecutive weeks of growth in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserves

 

Oil prices rising to $85 coincides with the 4 consecutive weeks of growth in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserves.

This is the largest sequence of weekly increases since the pandemic recession.

Energy prices have been steadily rising with implied demand for oil near all-time highs while gasoline prices are at the highest level in almost a year.

Here is a reminder that US oil production has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels, and aggregate capital spending for energy companies remains 52% from the 2014 peak.

Inflationary forces remain entrenched in the economy and the government is now having to walk back its erratic policy of depleting its Strategic Petroleum Reserves at an extremely sensitive juncture.