the following would seem to contradict recent Articles for major Index Decline at least what concerns Oil Commodity due in no small part to a decline in driving,over loaded inventories,IMHO the following article bears out the possibility of an escallating Oil/bbl,which bodes well for Connacher.

Crude Oil Rises More Than $2 a Barrel as U.S. Retail Sales Jump

By Mark Shenk

Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose more than $2 a barrel in New York as sales at U.S. retailers surged in August and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the worst U.S. recession since the 1930s has probably ended.

Oil climbed as much as 3.4 percent and equities advanced for the seventh time in eight days after Commerce Department figures showed that sales climbed by the most in three years. The dollar weakened, bolstering the attractiveness of commodities as an alternative investment. OPEC raised its oil demand forecast for this year and 2010 in a report today.

“The falling dollar, the OPEC forecasts for increased demand and the economic data, especially the retail sales number, meant it was just a matter of time before oil climbed,” said John Kilduff, senior vice president of energy at MF Global in New York. “You are seeing strength in almost all of the commodities.”

Crude oil for October delivery rose $2.07, or 3 percent, to settle at $70.93 a barrel at 2:46 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices are up 59 percent this year.

Separate reports today signaled manufacturers will help bolster the U.S. economy as they ramp up production after a record inventory drawdown in the first half of 2009.

Business inventories declined 1 percent in July, exceeding economists’ forecasts, to $1.33 trillion, the lowest level since March 2006, a Commerce Department report showed. Sales climbed 0.1 percent after a 1.1 percent gain in June.

Economic Index

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general economic index increased to 18.9 from 12.1 in August, the bank said today. Last month’s report was the first time since April 2008 that the reading was above zero, the dividing line between expansion and contraction for the Empire State index.

Crude oil tumbled to $32.40 a barrel in December, the lowest price in more than four years, after the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. on Sept. 15, 2008, triggered a global financial crisis that sapped energy demand.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries increased its 2010 outlook by 150,000 barrels a day and 2009 by 140,000 barrels a day. OPEC estimates that demand will contract 1.8 percent this year to average 84.05 million barrels a day, and then rise 0.6 percent in 2010 to 84.56 million a day.