Oil prices shot above $52.51 a barrel on Wednesday morning as investors await U.S. reports on gasoline stocks for the summer driving season.
The report is will whether or not refineries in the U.S. have started building gasoline supplies even though a number of refineries around the country have been forced into unscheduled maintenance and this could clear out any safety net supplies that may exist.
Experts figure the Energy Information Administration report will show that U.S. crude oil supplies will continue at their high levels with nearly three months of increases.
Crude stocks are up to 1.2 million but gasoline stocks are only up 200,000 according to a recent Reuters poll.
President Bush has expressed concern over the oil prices and plans on bringing up the issue with the Saudi royal family. He plans to see how much more Saudi can pump out to help control the rising costs of energy.
“I don’t think they’re pumping flat out,” Bush said, adding that he planned to ask the Saudi prince whether it was possible for the kingdom to step up oil production.
“I think they’re near capacity, and so we’ve just got, got to get a straight answer from the government as to what they think their excess capacity is,” he said in an interview with CNBC.
The Chinese also remain a major player in this game as China’s oil consumption continues to climb and their economy continues to strengthen. They have become the major factor in the high demand for oil now is they continue to build their economy.
John Stith is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.
