Shares of energy companies continue to rise in response to investors' concerns about low supplies of refined fuels in the U.S. As a result, U.S. oil prices have risen about 13% to about $111 per barrel over the past month. At the same time, the U.S. government's strategic petroleum reserves plunged to a 35-year-low of 538 million barrels, which also worries investors and analysts.
The high demand for energy stocks is proved by the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) 42.9% gains year-to-date (YTD) compared to S&P 500 Trust ETF’s (SPY) 18.44% loss over the same period.
