Justin Smirk Quotations

The post-drought rebuilding will hold back a bit of the growth and see agriculture still being a negative for 2005-06, but set us up for a very good 2006-07 - assuming average seasonal conditions,

We're being bounced around as robust crude supplies take the cream off a market driven up by geo-political concerns.

News of a fifth consecutive weekly stock build is putting a general weight on oil prices.

It doesn't matter how much crude you pump in, you won't have a meaningful effect on prices if you can't get refined product out,

We're dealing with the short-term supply shock now, although there are still further risks as the hurricane season continues.

What people are feeling is that Iran is a longer-term issue. The risk to supply is lying much further out, and is still somewhat unclear.

What people are feeling is that Iran is a longer-term issue. The focus is on the now, and inventory rises continue to suggest an easing in tightness -- not just week to week, but also month to month.

This is a volatile market which is extremely jittery about supply shocks. The hurricane season is still in full-swing and the market can only focus on that right now.

There was a shortage of capacity before Katrina, which got worse, and which is now under threat from Rita.

The highs are getting higher and so are the lows. The only way to break that cycle is a negative demand shock or a positive supply shock, neither of which seem likely in the short to medium term.