Michael Fitzpatrick Weather Quotations

Milder weather forecasts for this week and extraordinarily high stockpiles continued to weigh on sentiment.

Mild weather and growing stockpiles can't be ignored much longer.

Mild weather is supposed to continue across most of the northern third of the country until next week, .

The weather is cooperating and helping us replenish supplies. The speculative frenzy that followed the hurricanes has cooled down. Lower refinery operating rates have led to rising crude-oil stocks as products have arrived from elsewhere.

The weather will be more seasonal over the next week but it will take much more than that to put a dent in supplies.

Despite a weekend blizzard in the Northeast and an oversold market after a 16% sliding the last six sessions, record high levels of gas in storage would temper any buying even if the weather stays cold.

The mild weather and contracting demand are continuing to send us lower. Crude oil will soon test $56 and the products $1.50.

The warm January has permitted a window of opportunity to stage an early refinery turnover, longer-term weather forecasts call for a warm conclusion to the heating season, and gasoline has been quickly rebuilding stockpiles in advance of summer.

The latest national Weather Service outlook is forecasting below-normal temperatures through February 21st, but an arctic cold blast is not expected.