Lexington Group Analysts Predict Rising Oil Prices

Tokyo, Japan, August 04, 2013 --(PR.com)-- The price of oil has been rising over the last few weeks as stockpiles in the United States have declined by over 20 million barrels during the last two weeks according to data from the Energy Information Administration. “We believe at The Lexington Group that the potential exists for American crude oil stockpiles to drop even further which will of course push the price up and create a gap between supply and demand. The strain on American stockpiles is coming from the summer driving season, Americans generally take driving holidays. Prices have risen as the dollar weakened against the Euro, making crude an appealing alternative investment,” stated Analyst, Matthew Stevens.

Another contributing factor to the rise in price of oil, is the increasing cost of living in the United States which made its biggest jump in four months in June. The consumer-price index increased half a percent, mainly due to the two-thirds gain in gasoline.

West Texas intermediate, a grade of crude oil normally used as a bench mark in pricing, for August delivery is priced at $106.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent Crude, another benchmark standard of the industry, for August delivery which settled today, the 16th of July at $109.45 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

Refineries have increased output as gasoline consumption has reached 11-month highs during the week ending July 5th stated the Energy Information Administration, a division of the US Energy Department. Demand is generally highest from the last weekend in May to Labour Day weekend in September, which is the peak vacation period. The Energy Information Administration has also reported that the average price of gasoline has reached $3.639 a gallon, which is 32% over the five-year seasonal average.