[surfer1]

Given today's EIA Petroleum Status Report in a few hours, is there any consensus as to the figure and its impact upon the oil price?

[pup55]

Thanks for joining us, surfer1.

We forecast the unleaded gas inventory almost every week. Lately, we have been just as good as the pros, if not better (if I do say so). A valuable service for frequent viewers of PO.com.

I will bump up the ongoing thread so you can find it.

As to its effect on prices, that one is a little tougher. Lately, it has been pretty consistent that decreasing unleaded gas supply gives higher crude oil and gasoline prices, particularly if the decrease has been bigger than "expected" (for those less able to accurately predict) but it is not at all unheard of for the Saudis or somebody else with deep pockets to dump a lot of oil on the market during the trading day as a sign of power, and try to lower the price.

Anyway, if you have a prediction, feel free to join the fun and post it.