In electronic trade the front (June) futures are changing hands at $102.73 down $1.06.
From gCaptain, April 21:
U.S. Energy Department Kicks Off Record-Setting Release from Strategic Petroleum Reserve
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced the sale of 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), the first since President Biden announced plans for the largest SPR release in U.S. history in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The sale marks the second emergency sale of SPR oil since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in late February, following an initial 30 million barrels sold from the SPR in March as part of an international effort to collectively release 60 million barrels.
Following up on the March sale, President Biden earlier this month announced the “historic” release of approximately one million barrels of crude oil per day over the next six months—the largest-ever release from the SPR—to help lower gas prices for Americans amid supply disruptions caused by Putin’s war on Ukraine.
“The release will provide a record amount of supply to the market until the end of the year, when domestic production is expected to increase by 1 million barrels per day. DOE will use the revenue from the release to restock the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in future years,” the White House said in a Fact Sheet.....
....MUCH MORE
The fact sheet is headlined "FACT SHEET: Biden Administration Responds to Putin’s Price Hike by Awarding First Barrels from Historic Strategic Petroleum Reserve Release & Deploying Affordable Clean Energy" but the truth of the matter is the big move up began in the first week of November 2020 off the dip down to $39 and change. Here's the chart from the NYMEX:
That March 31 post continued:
....Of course this approach, releasing a million barrels/day in the run-up to the election leads to neither the demand destruction nor the incentivation of production at the heart of the old commodity trader's saying: "The cure for high prices is high prices."
Whatever works. "In the long run we are all dead." We'll kick that can when we come to it.“Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.”WTI $99.70 down $0.58.
Related April 4:
In A Move That Stunned Wall Street The Biden Administration Will Probably Be Refilling The Strategic Petroleum Reserve At A $50 Per Barrel LOSS
Attempting the reverse 2 1/2 twisting Amaranth,* the only question now is "Will they stick the faceplant landing?" or will the governbent further distort markets by entering into futures contracts?
I'm trying to recall what happened in the first week of November 2020.
On February 24, 2022, the day Russia invaded Ukraine, these futures settled at $88.84, down 24 cents.
