US industrial production fell in September by the largest monthly amount since 1974. While a big chunk of the production loss was lower oil and gas production, the rest of the drop lowered demand for energy from oil and gas. The weekly EIA oil report showed continued decreases in petroleum consumption, allowing supplies to rise further toward average levels. Demand increased slightly from last week’s extremely low levels, but remains significantly lower than a year ago. As a result, crude has fallen below the $70 level, what I consider to be (more…)