Tim Evans Stocks Quotations

Stocks have a tendency toward a counter-seasonal rise in early January ... but the mild readings this time around make a further 2 to 3 million barrel build more likely than the 1.1 million barrel five-year average increase.

Despite the surprise 1.3 million-barrel drop in DOE crude stocks for last week, inventories in the market remain near April 1999 highs.

The OPEC demand revision is more of a reminder than anything else. Between the high level of crude stocks and the downward revisions to demand, the price should have trouble climbing like it has done this week.

I'm not sure this is the start of a new trend in crude oil stocks and it probably reflects more of a desire on the part of refiners to limit the material they hold than it does a lack of supply,

The bulls are trying to put up a fight here, trying to make a case that the build in stocks and the drop in price over the past month haven't really hurt all that bad.

I'm surprised by the drop in crude stocks and the further decline in crude oil imports,