So much for Obama’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve move!

As PumpGirl noted, oil prices moved higher, perhaps in line with the (modestly) positive economic news from the ADP jobs report.

Meanwhile, gasoline futures at the NYMEX spiked higher by almost thirteen cents! The entire forward curve for the next year is up by more than ten cents. I looked at the bottom month in the next year and the implied pump price is about $3.50. The average is significantly higher.

For managers who are planning ahead, the window of opportunity to lock in prices may not be open for long.

Reuters reports that in light of record high prices and a mounting EU debt crisis, European demand for oil is quickly deteriorating. Here in the United States, consumer demand for oil is also falling for the first time in months.

Prices have been driving ever higher after months of turmoil in the Middle East have consistently constricted the supply of oil. The military operations in Libya alone are preventing over a million barrels of oil from reaching international markets every day. Industrialized nations are already experiencing slowed growth as a result of energy concerns, prompting OPEC to seriously consider releasing more of its emergency reserves in order to boost supply.

As we begin to enter the summer driving season, we should expect the cyclical rise in crude oil prices. Amidst growing uncertainty and rising prices, now would be an ideal time to take advantage of fuel price protection programs.

Yes, it’s true. Americans are turning to smaller fuel efficient cars.

With gas at $4/gallon, it’s either that or walk part way. Filling the tank of my little Honda Civic last week was nearly $50. Yikes!

Chevy Cruze, Hyundai Elantra, and Ford Focus lead the way in sales in April. Toyota is not in the mix-still recovering from earthquake/tsunami issues.

Oh, and small cars don’t necessarily mean no frills. They come with leathers seats w/heaters and satellite radio along with great mileage.

Get ‘em today. They might not be there tomorrow.

Mr. Obama blames speculators for driving oil prices higher and picking the pockets of American consumer. There is more than enough oil in the world markets to meet demand.

I know that if you’ve got a limited budget and you just watch that hard-earned money going away to oil companies that will once again probably make record profits this quarter, it’s pretty frustrating,” he said.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said on Tuesday he was concerned that rising crude oil and gasoline prices could undermine U.S. economic recovery

The US government is going to investigate unfair speculation.

Have at it, boys!

Gas prices have risen to something close to $4/gallon, and the Republicans are once again calling for more domestic oil drilling.

John Boehner (the new Nancy Pelosi) says Obama is just not doing enough to lower gas prices for the American public, and in fact is doing just the opposite.

House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday. “They’ve cancelled leases for new exploration, jeopardized new nuclear energy, and imposed a de facto drilling moratorium. They’ve even pushed a ‘cap and trade’ national energy tax that the president himself admitted would cause energy costs to ‘skyrocket.’”

Boehner’s new plan is called the American Energy Initiative. It’s supposed to lower gas prices and create new jobs. Maybe it can create cold fusion too, never know.

White House press secretary Jay Carney disputed Boehner’s comments at his press briefing Thursday and pointed out that the Obama administration has issued 37 new offshore shallow water oil drilling permits since the BP oil spill, as well as one deep water permit. He said the administration is committed to more oil production in addition to pursuing other forms of energy production.

Some Democrats want to open up the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.