Charts and News for Wednesday

Slate has a good story on Peak Oil with lots of stats: Barrel Fever.

Personally, I can't wait to see what the International Energy Agency comes up with in its comprehensive assessment of the world's top 400 oil fields. From last month's Wall Street Journal ...

For several years, the IEA has predicted that supplies of crude and other liquid fuels will arc gently upward to keep pace with rising demand, topping 116 million barrels a day by 2030, up from around 87 million barrels a day currently. Now, the agency is worried that aging oil fields and diminished investment mean that companies could struggle to surpass 100 million barrels a day over the next two decades.

And here's today's news ...
Oil falls as crude supplies rise

Light, sweet crude for August delivery fell more than $3 to less than $134 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil had been trading down $1.30 before the report's release. The U.S. Energy Information Administration's weekly petroleum report showed that oil supplies rose by 800,000 barrels during the week ended June 20. Economists had expected supplies to fall by 1.7 million barrels last week, according to Platts information service.

Japan's Exports Grow 3.7% as Asian Shipments Offset US Slump Japan's exports grew at twice the pace economists estimated in May, as accelerating shipments to Asia helped the economy withstand a slump caused by falling demand from the U.S. and Europe.

Fed May Begin Shift to Fighting Inflation as Rate Cuts Help Sustain Growth The Federal Reserve may signal today that inflation is starting to replace a recession and the credit crunch as the biggest risk facing the economy.

Sean's note -- I'll believe that when I see it.

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