LightSweetOil.com

Light Sweet Crude Oil is a sought after type of petroleum because it is used primarily to process gasoline, kerosene and diesel fuel. The price is based on market demand and with a majority of the vehicles currently on the roads using this low level sulfur based oil; it has become a commodity and quite possibly a better choice to higher sulfur levels in crude oil. The oil prices have been steady and haven’t risen since last years climb which caused many people to make choices between filling their gas tank and filling their pantries. Sweet crude is not something that most consumers think about when buying gasoline but are well aware when the prices rise and fall at an alarming rate.

If you want to find out more about Light Sweet Crude Oil news you can watch specific market shows or seek information from the internet. The websites that cater to investors or even novice enthusiasts will have the most current information. You can also gain information from business network shows who might even been talking about the price of oil and how we as a society need it and how we can gain control to distribute it all over the world. Current markets show a slow uptrend because of the holiday months. There will be a spike in the summer months because of extra travel but in the winter months it will drop off due to less driving and most of the road construction takes a break because of the weather.

The way to read an oil chart is to look at past buying trends and market share. Many of the oil charts are based on decades and not year to year growth. Since the demand for more oil has increased due to the population growth the demand has seen substantially increased for those who want to chart the growth of Light Sweet Crude Oil. Although many forecasters say that we should continue to use oil as a viable base for trade developers of cleaner energy are shying away from such claims. The futures market has projected for February 2010 a modest .9% increase. The charts for light crude were started back in 1997 where it was $25.69 a barrel, which is in US dollars; it is now trading at $73.36 a barrel. The biggest increase has been since June of 2009.

The science behind the demand for Light Sweet Crude Oil is because it contains less sulfur which causes more refineries to petrol it. Its lighter which means it won’t clog operating system and thus making machines run smoother will less downtime. Since its inception it is even more in demand for those who can afford to pay for it. Many refineries would rather work with light crude because it has some many applications for buyers and consumers. Alaska is one of the main areas where light crude can be found, the demand puts lots of pressure on this state.

Light sweet crude oil is the source of petroleum gas, gasoline, kerosene, industrial fuel and diesel. It comprises of little sulphur in contrast to sour crude oil. The price of light sweet crude oil has a great impact on the economy and vice-versa. Present day price of crude oil is 76.60$ per barrel. There are 42 gallons in a barrel. It is being forecasted by experts that the prices of crude oil would go up to 87$ in the next year.

Goldman Sachs, an investment bank in the US, has forecasted the crude oil prices to reach around 90$ per barrel in the next year. It predicts that a consistently growing market would take the prices further high and up to 110$ in the year 2011. However, as per the report of the US Department of Energy, crude stocks have been consistently rising since the last year due to low demand for oil from the developed countries including the US. Crude reserves rose by 2.1 million barrels in the last week of November. Thus it can be assumed that a recession hit market has been the seed reason behind low demand for oil and rising crude stocks.

As per latest reports, crude oil prices came down by 2.26% to $76.60 per barrel on the New York mercantile exchange this week. However, it gained 31 cents the next day to go up to $76.91 per barrel. Actually, demand for crude oil is still growing but not at the pace at which it grew in the last decade. As a result, the US is getting close to an oversupply of oil and the refiners have no option but to hold down production due to lack of sales.

In the crude oil market, people purchase “futures” betting on the prices of crude oil at a latter date. This trading is done at the New York Mercantile Exchange, as well as at the International Petroleum Exchange. Crude oil trading is now more of a sensation in the market because it has been speculated to be safer than trading on the price of dollar or gold. However, global oil prices having dropped to 76$ a barrel, a report of the Energy Information administration showing US crude oil inventories to have risen to the highest level since August has put the market under severe pressure. Taking a closer look at the chart below, one can make out the huge drop in crude oil prices since December 2007.

This drop in prices is obviously a result of a struggling economy resulting in low demand from the developed countries. As one can find in the chart above, crude oil prices that had gone as high as $130 in the year 2007 have now gone down to as low as 76$ presently. While forecasters like Goldman Sachs continue to provide bright predictions in the coming years, the Department of Energy has sort of dropped a hammer with its reports on all the traders of crude. As per latest reports, crude oil prices on December 5, 2009 had dropped 99 cents to 75.47$ further fuelling the DOE reports.

All eyes are on oil majors since the fall of refining battle. though the industry is 20% increasing, the refineries are struggling to demand remains weak and the cost of input - oil - continues to rise.Most companies are betting on a rebound in oil prices to offset the results of refining dejuction. The results put the focus to the wells due to come on line in the up coming months.The earnings of this quarter from oil majors like Exxon Mobil Corp. and BP Plc, to be published this week, will focus on its integrated structure. BP reports results on Tuesday, followed on Wednesday by Conoco, Exxon and Shell on Thursday and Chevron on Friday.

Good news for oil producers U.S. oil prices is above$ 80 a barrel for the first time in a year.Just over half a year ago, it leveled at $68 per barrel,but 13% above the second quarter.Few hoping for a dramatic recovery in global demand for petroleum products next year,as oil majors also encountered by a difficult decisions about what to do with the excess refinery capacity and refiners.Olivier Jakob of Switzerland’s Petromatrix said high oil prices could encourage some producers to increase production.

Reflecting the fall in prices year after year, Exxon, the largest global private company in the petroleum sector is expected to report 63 percent decline in earnings of 4.94 billion U.S. dollars, according to the average Thomson Reuters.”We want to ensure that projects in the queue are going as planned and is expected to be growth of production in 2010,” said Neal Shah, an energy analyst with First American Funds in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

It’s a similar story for BP, with a Reuters poll of six analysts give an average estimate of net profit of U.S. $ 3.2 million in the quarter, up 64 percent over the same period in 2008.While The Anglo-Dutch giant Royal Dutch Shell, based on the average among some analysts, is expected to show comparable net profit of U.S. $ 2.5 million, less than 69% from a year ago.”It will tell whether these “supermajors” are true supermajors” said Tina Vital from S&P Equity Research.

Oil Cazenove analyst Fred Lucas wrote in a research note that London-based BP management may suggest the possibility that lower capital spending in 2010.

CONOCOPHILLIPS : 51.97 (-0.96)
CHEVRON CORP : 76.68 (-0.61)
OCCIDENTAL PET : 82.15 (-1.85)
ROYAL DUTCH SHELL-A: 20.80 (-0.08)
ROYAL DUTCH SHELL-B: 1852.50 (+15.00)
SCHLUMBERGER LTD : 65.20 (-3.40)
EXXON MOBIL CP : 73.57 (-0.87)

A key test will come from their refining businesses, with benchmark margins off 54% on the US Gulf Coast and down 60 per cent in both Northwest Europe and Singapore

Most commodities have been reacting to the fear of deflation. The crude oil was no exception. The gold has not suffered much, however, given that is perceived as a form of money and during periods of deflation.Thus, crude oil decrease much more than gold and gold/ oil price combination moved away from any trend. Important note: prices tend to eventually revert to their means.