Depending on the day and who you’re talking to, the oil supply is either waning down to nothing or it’s doing just fine, thank you. Supply glut or not, oil exchange traded funds (ETFs) have been hit in recent months.
Mark Shenk for Bloomberg reports that oil supplies may hit one-month highs last week. This is primarily because of signals that economic growth has slowed, which tends to tamp down demand. The inventory numbers, some say, are too big to ignore and may send prices tumbling.
Gas prices are off, too, since they peaked in the spring. Gas prices usually rise in the spring because of the supply constraints created by the switchover to specially formulated summer gasoline mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency, says Ronald Baily for Reason. [Is the Gas ETF Ready for a Summer Boost?]
Gas prices generally follow along with oil prices (though not always). They’re also heavily at the mercy of supply and demand, and factors that affect this include: the American automobile fleet gets better gas mileage than it did a few years ago and Americans, whacked by the recession and high unemployment rates, are driving a bit less than they used to. [Oil ETFs: Any Comeback in Sight?]
Both oil and gas have been hit this summer. General economic malaise coupled with a hurricane that’s keeping would-be travelers at home on the East Coast means fewer cars hitting the road and less demand.
Oil and gas ETFs are below their long-term trend lines for the time being. Many analysts believe that prices could stage a comeback at some point; sign up for alerts to be notified of a trading opportunity in these funds when they happen.
Tisha Guerrero contributed to this article.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.