Reuters: Oil eases from record over $115
Thu Apr 17, 2008 3:40pm EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil prices slipped from record highs on Thursday after a drop in U.S. inventories and the weaker dollar had pushed prices above $115 a barrel.
U.S. crude settled down 7 cents at $114.86 a barrel after rallying to an all-time peak of $115.54. London Brent settled 23 cents lower at $112.43 a barrel, off the record $113.38 set earlier.
U.S. crude inventories fell unexpectedly last week, while a drop in gasoline stocks exceeded analyst expectations, a government report said on Wednesday, raising supply concerns as the world’s top consumer gears up for the summer driving season.
Gasoline stocks in the United States fell by 5.5 million barrels in the latest week, more than the 1.8-million-barrel decline analysts had expected.
“Summer driving season is approaching. And, even in a recessionary economy, seasonal gasoline demand will pick up, which adds to stress on the global oil supply chain,” Jan Stuart at UBS said in a research note.
“But, before we get there, the stress already put onto the supply chain globally by middle distillate demand and supply dynamics is not still abating,” he added.
In the latest indication of strong demand for middle distillates, China’s top refiners were set to extend high imports into a sixth straight month.
Oil prices have more than quadrupled since 2002 as supply struggles to keep up with booming demand, especially in China and other emerging economies.
The slide in the U.S. dollar has supported prices for oil and other dollar-denominated commodities, luring investors seeking to hedge against inflation and compensate for the shrinking value of dollar assets in their portfolios.
The dollar pared gains after the Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s business index fell sharply in April, adding to concern about the health of the U.S. economy.
Earlier, the dollar had gained against the euro after Jean-Claude Juncker, chairman of euro zone finance ministers, spoke out against the single currency’s rise.
(Reporting by Matthew Robinson and Robert Gibbons in New York; Felicia Loo in Singapore; Ikuko Kao and Alex Lawler in London; Editing by Walter Bagley)
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Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
