Where Are We Going?

 
MSNBC shows that the average storm season (per year)is as follows:

10 Tropical Storms
6 Hurricanes
2 Major Hurricanes

This year, the Hurricane Season unfolded as follows:

21 Tropical Storms (and counting)
11 Hurricanes (and counting)
5 Major

If you live in Australia or Poland, and you think this is interesting, but possibly irrelevant, you're wrong. The weather in the Gulf of Mexico, or Antarctica, effects you. We live in a system, and we're connected to the world whether we think we are or not.


 

Greenspan warns of energy prices' impacts
Sharp rise after hurricanes will act as drag on economy, Fed chief says

Updated: 8:43 p.m. ET Oct. 17, 2005
WASHINGTON - The sharp spike in energy prices that occurred after the Gulf Coast hurricanes will act as a drag on the economy although the impact on growth and inflation will not be as severe as the oil shocks of the 1970s, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said.

Greenspan said that with world oil markets exceptionally tight because of rising global demand, the likelihood of a sizable spike in prices due to the loss of Gulf Coast production was "an accident waiting to happen."

from MSNBC.com:

In the report Monday, OPEC said demand growth for this year would amount to 1.18 million barrels a day, or 17 percent less than previously thought, with total demand at 83.26 million barrels a day.

Much of the overall reduction came from cuts in the peak demand seen in the final three months of the year, with OPEC estimating growth for that period at 740,000 barrels a day, compared to previous expectations of 1.23 million barrels a day.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery rose $1.73 to settle at $64.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

December Brent futures on the International Petroleum Exchange in London rose $1.09 to settle at $60.57 a barrel.

Products also jumped. Heating oil gained 3.33 cents to settle at $1.9833 a gallon on the Nymex, while gasoline rose by 6.67 cents to $1.8153 per gallon. Natural gas rose 66.8 cents to settle at $13.887 per 1,000 cubic feet.


SUV sales slowdown slams U.S. automakers

Tropical Storm Wilma formed south of the Cayman Islands on Monday as the 21st named storm of the season, tying the 1933 record for the most storms in an Atlantic season, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

At 5 p.m. EDT, Wilma had sustained winds of about 50 mph, up 10 mph from earlier in the day. It was centered about 255 miles southeast of Grand Cayman. Long-term forecasts show the storm heading into the Gulf of Mexico by the weekend. Experts said high water temperatures and other conditions meant it could become a significant hurricane.

Most U.S. oil production and refineries are in the central and western Gulf, and traders are nervous about yet more damage to oil facilities after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

After surging above $70 a barrel in late August, oil prices have pulled back in recent weeks, although there are plenty of concerns about the pace of recovery following Rita, and whether supplies will be adequate going into the Northern Hemisphere winter, when demand for heating oil peaks.

“The market is on edge; it’s looking for directions. There’s a lot of volatility now, which is characteristic of a tight supply situation,” said Victor Shum, energy analyst at Texas-headquartered Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.

In Vienna, PVM Oil Associates suggested that fears of instability in Iran — where a weekend bomb attack killed five people and injured 80 — also acted to shore up the market. And “mixed signals from OPEC,” with Algeria “assuring that the organization has enough spare capacity next year to bring down prices” even as Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez asserts the opposite, added to market volatility.

On Monday, the federal Minerals Management Service reported a slight uptick in Gulf of Mexico oil and natural gas production. Almost 1 million barrels a day, or 66 percent, of daily oil output remains down. Close to 5.5 billion cubic feet, or 55 percent, of daily daily natural-gas output remains down.

© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.