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A US$300M US energy department rebate scheme on energy-efficient appliances could be operating by Christmas. The UK’s main retail trade body meanwhile wants the government to drop value-added tax on eco-friendly white goods with a temporary car industry style scraping to kick start the demand. Clunkers schemes have certainly blown away expectations in the US and elsewhere; Germany’s helped pull the country out of recession this spring, and boosted car-making countries in central Europe. Even the UK’s stingier scheme stimulated sales. So why not try it with fridges? Like cars, sales of big-ticket white goods are suffering badly; US sales fell 15% in the seven months to July. And even offsetting the energy cost of destroying older products and building new ones, there are long-term benefits to the environment and consumers’ pockets. Read more

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Crude Oil prices sank about 6% on Wednesday after data showed crude inventories surged the most since April, reminding the fundamentals were still weak. Light, sweet crude for September delivery closed off US$3.88, or 5.8% to settle at US$63.35 bbl on the New York Mercantile Exchange. According to the US Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration (EIA), crude stockpiles rose by 5.1 million barrels for the week ended July 24, the biggest surge since April, driving the total stockpiles to 347.8 million barrels, 9.5 percent higher than the five-year average for the period. Crude Oil prices headed even lower after the Commerce Department reported that new durable goods orders fell 2.5% in June, the largest percentage drop since January, after rising 1.3% in May. London Brent for September delivery dropped US$3.60 to US$66.28 bbl on the ICE Futures exchange.

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