Can anyone tell me why I keep reading posts that Oil prices are down becasue of
"massive imports"?  I reviewed the import data (for the U.S.) at the EIA website and the "massive imports" are actually down, year oover year for the first 6 months of 2006 from 2005.  If I am missing something please let me know. Any help would be appreciated
Where are you reading that? Oil prices can't, even in theory, be down because of massive imports. Gasoline prices could, in theory, be down because of massive imports of oil, but as you noted that is not the case. Oil prices could be down because of massive exports, but that is not the case either.

My feeling is that oil prices are down on a combination of expectations of lower demand (partially because of lower economic growth expectations) and reduction in the role of financial intermediaries/risk premium. Could all change soon, who knows.

Thanks for the reply.

Of course world Oil prices should not be down because of US imorts, unless of course, the tanker inventory world wide can't find a home... but that is the line coming from a number of Oil market analysts and advisors... US inventories have only 3 components (when you lump crude, distillate, and gasoline together) domestic production, imports, and consumption.  Production is down, imorts are down, consumption is... down?  Must be if inventories are up year over year