Despite U.S. oil stocks falling 7.6 million barrels, the biggest drop since September, a recent Financial Times article reports, quoting U.S. Energy Information Administration data, that the oil price is struggling to get back to $48 per barrel, let alone the heady heights above $50 it achieved in May. U.S. refineries are running flat out to meet summer demand, drawing down on U.S. stocks — but still, the price is not responding. Meanwhile U.S. exports are booming. Rather than being constrained by OPEC cuts, global production is rising. Ironically, even Saudi Arabia is pumping above its target, reporting to the cartel that last month it raised output to 10.7 million barrels per day, a 190,000 b/d increase on the previous month and 12,000 b/d above its own target. The Kingdom claims it needed to increase output to meet peak electricity-generating demand experienced during the summer months, but the Saudi […]