It'll Take More Than the Change Between the Seat Cushions

Maybe it isn't time to look into lending agencies for SUV drivers yet, but...

Oil rose sharply over $56 a barrel Thursday as brisk demand for transport fuel in the United States, the world's biggest consumer, continued to unnerve the market.

U.S. oil prices have gained nearly 30 percent since the start of the year.

Wednesday's rally drew on a deeper-than-expected fall in U.S. crude inventories, shown in weekly government data, following a recovery in refinery runs and countering the bearish effect of substantial growth in distillate stockpiles.

The market brushed off an OPEC deal to raise formal production by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd), two percent, with traders well aware that real output levels would be little changed.

As Freeway Blogger once put it--"10 Miles per Gallon, 2 Soldiers per Day."