“Surprises never cease in this economy. If one was to look at energy demands, it certainly would not lead to a conclusion we are entering a recession.”

— John Person, NationalFutures.com

Amen.

Today the Department of Energy issued its latest energy inventory figures. As regular readers of PlaneBusiness Banter know, we track these numbers every week — because of their implications to jet fuel prices.

Today, the government reported that for the week ending Mar. 2, crude oil inventories were down for the first time in three weeks. Both distillate inventories (which include jet fuel) and gasoline inventories had already been posting steady weekly declines prior to this week’s latest update.

The upshot? Crude oil prices have jumped today. Last time I checked, a barrel of crude was trading up over a buck and change at $61.70/barrel.