Energy In Two Graphs

Here are two update graphs from The Oil Drum that tell the whole story of the current energy situation:

The first chart is a measure of the amount of oil in inventory:


As you can see, there is plenty of oil in inventory. Rising/falling prices in oil are occurring because of "risk" premium, of which there is plenty. Nevertheless, oil prices are currently in a narrow range. Gasoline, on the other hand, is going through the roof. Why?

Gasoline inventories continue to fall although it appears we might be near a bottom. Wholesale prices (and retail) reflect the shortage. The oil industry has various excuses like refineries being serviced, blah blah blah, that you may or may not believe. It's always interesting how oil company profits go sky-high when they have problems with refineries. Either way, it's unusual for gasoline supplies to be so low before the driving season. It will be interesting to see if high prices deter summer driving or not.