Oil Prices in a Tug-of-War

Oil prices are locked in a tug-of-war, with two powerful opposing forces pulling on it. This should bring about swings in the price of oil as one factor overpowers the other and vice versa. However, it should also allow for an ironic stability for as long as neither convincingly overpowers the other. On one side, we have an appreciating dollar pulling oil downward, and on the other we have a change in energy sector dynamics pulling oil higher. Traders might use the sort of controlled volatility to their advantage, while long-term investors may be frustrated near-term. See the whole story at The Tug-of-War for Oil Prices.

Energy Relative Shares	Year-to-Date
SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY)	+3.7%
United States Oil (NYSE: USO)	+8.9%
iPath S&P GSCI Crude Oil (NYSE: OIL)	+4.7%
United States Natural Gas (NYSE: UNG)	-25%
Energy Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLE)	+12.1%
SPDR S&P Oil & Gas E&P (NYSE: XOP)	+16.7%
Market Vectors Oil Services (NYSE: OIH)	+6.4%
Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM)	+17.5%
Chevron (NYSE: CVX)	+16.1%
B.P. (NYSE: BP)	+7.4%
TOTAL S.A. (NYSE: TOT)	+10.6%
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP)	-3.8%
Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX)	+0.1%
Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY)	+13.8%
Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB)	+12.2%
Halliburton (NYSE: HAL)	+26%

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only. Article interests energy investors including Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), BP (NYSE: BP), PetroChina (NYSE: PTR), Petrobras (NYSE: PZE), Royal Dutch Shell (OTC: RYDAF.PK), Total (NYSE: TOT), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), Repsol (OTC: REPYY.PK), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Eni SpA (NYSE: E), Sasol (NYSE: SSL), Encana (NYSE: ECA), Suncor (NYSE: SU), Imperial Oil (AMEX: IMO), Statoil (NYSE: STO), Cenovus (NYSE: CVE), Transocean (NYSE: RIG), Penn West Petroleum (NYSE: PWE), Continental Resources (NYSE: CLR), Noble (NYSE: NE), Concho (NYSE: CXO), Diamond Offshore (NYSE: DO), Ensco (NYSE: ESV), Whiting Petroleum (NYSE: WLL), Nabors (NYSE: NBR), Pride International (NYSE: PDE), Helmerich & Payne (NYSE: HP), QEP Resources (NYSE: QEP), Enerplus (NYSE: ERF), Rowan (NYSE: RDC), Cobalt (NYSE: CIE), Patterson UTI (Nasdaq: PTEN), SandRidge (NYSE: SD), Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB), Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV), Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI), Weatherford International (NYSE: WFT), Cameron (NYSE: CAM), FMC Tech (NYSE: FTI), Oil States International (NYSE: OIS), Superior Energy (NYSE: SPN), Carbo Ceramics (NYSE: CRR), Helix Energy (NYSE: HLX), Pioneer (NYSE: PXD), CNOOC (NYSE: CEO), China Petroleum and Chemical (NYSE: SNP), Ecopetrol (NYSE: EC), Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE: CNQ), Apache (NYSE: APA), Anadarko (NYSE: APC), Devon (NYSE: DVN), EOG (NYSE: EOG), Chesapeake (NYSE: CHK).