Category: Crude Oil

North Sea Brent was discovered in the early 1960’s and is refined and consumed in the U.K, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Germany.

Brent Crude is a form of crude oil of which there are a number of different types. In the North Sea these include; Brent Crude, Sweet Crude, Brent Light, Ecofisk, Forties, and Oseberg. Brent Crude is the biggest of the family of North Sea crudes and its names originates from the bird the ‘Brent Goose’. In 1971 Shell discovered a huge oil field off the North East of Shetland. Their policy was to name all oil fields after birds. The particular crude that the Brent field produced was therefore named ‘Brent’ Crude.

North Sea Brent Crude is used as a benchmark to price two thirds of all the oil traded on the international market. Other remowned classifications inclue Dubai Crude, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI), which is a sweeter and lighter form of crude. Crude oil acquires the term ’sweet’ if the sulphur content is less than 0.5%. If it is higher than 0.5% it is considered ’sour’ crude. Crude oil with a low sulphur content is the most coveted of all oil and is almost always refined into petroleum.

The most coveted, highly prized and sought after oil in both the North Sea and around the world is,’ Light-sweet crude,’ as its the easiest to refine into gasoline, kerosene and high quality diesel.

Gas prices have surged nearly 9% over the past two weeks, but analysts say a return to last summer’s record highs of $4 a gallon is not on the horizon. Gasoline prices have jumped about 18 cents during the past 13 days, with the national average hitting $2.226 a gallon on Monday, according to a survey by motorist group AAA. While prices have been on a tear, they are still some 46% lower from the all-time high of $4.114 a gallon hit last July.

It’s not surprising that prices have been moving higher as they typically increase ahead of the Memorial Day holiday, the unofficial intro to the peak summer driving season. “A bump-up is to be expected this time of year but we’re not on the way to another spike,” said AAA spokesperson Troy Green. He said would be “surprised” to see prices reach $3.50 a gallon, barring unexpected supply disruptions such as a hurricane, and he would be “shocked” to see $3.75 a gallon this summer.

Many analysts expect gas prices to continue climbing over the next few weeks, greatly because of rising crude oil prices, the main ingredient in gasoline. “Gas prices have trended higher in lockstep with crude prices,” said Chris Lafakis, economist at Moody’s Economy.com. “Crude is the biggest input in the price of gasoline.” Oil prices have rallied some 73% over the past three months as signs the economy is headed for a recovery have raised bets that demand for oil and gas will rebound sooner rather than later. Oil prices edged lower Monday after closing at their highest level of the year Friday.

When you want to learn online stock market investing, you may not really know where to start. There are a lot of things to learn,it will be easier to focus on one thing at a time. Don’t wait to start investing because once you get started,things will get easier over time.

The number one thing you should learn about stock market investing advice is opinions are like belly buttons: everyone has one. Most people will never ask for help,but they should swallow their pride because they will soften the learning curve. Try to improve as quickly as possible, be careful not to stress out. Then you will be far better off and experienced, and can use your own judgment instead of luck.

What you should always remember about beginner stock market investing is that your own experience will be worth more than another’s opinion. Many people make investment decisions based on emotion, this might cause the portfolio to end up worse for wear. If you are feeling negative in anyway, you should probably take a breather and return later.

To prevent substantial losses when investing emotionally, seek guidance from a professional or successful investor. If you do not know of any strong professional investors, try investigating Warren Buffet. You can see how professionals actually invest, and you might just learn a few things while you’re at it. Removing the emotion from investing invaluable to your portfolio.