This year's hurricane season is off to a vicious start. This may be looked at as a promising start for investors; especially for the investors that are thinking, "Now when and where is this crude oil market going to take off?" Although not one of us will ever forget the massive destruction of Katrina and Rita, many may not forget the ripple effect on the crude oil market and the economy as a whole. For this season can we really predict what mother nature will do, or how the market will react?
The official start of the Atlantic hurricane season was June 1st, and has since already been a historic year. The 2007 season has already had two category five storms make landfall; this has not happened since 1886. Also the US has seen a Pacific and an Atlantic storm make landfall on the same day. This rare occurrence is unprecedented.
In an article by the Associated Press, "Hurricane Season Could Affect Gas Price”, the first line of the article says it all "If you think gasoline prices are high now, consider the eye-popping possibilities if another monster storm pummels the Gulf of Mexico this hurricane season, the way Katrina and Rita battered the petroleum-rich waters in 2005.”
This is definitely going to fluctuate the market as investors start to worry about the economic impact. I will be watching the market close!