Was The SPR Release The Right Call?

It's been one week since the IEA announced it would be releasing 60 million barrels of oil to help drive down oil prices. There are two reasons behind the release: 1. to help drive down oil prices which the IEA believes are hurting global economies, as oil prices impact everyday purchases. The other reason is that due to the civil war in Libya, 132 million barrels of light sweet crude have come off line, and that has also raised prices at the pump. Last week, oil prices were down sharply, as the IEA made the announcement. Since then, oil prices have climbed back up and are actually higher than they were prior to the announcement. At last check, a barrel of oil costs you $95.20 per barrel, up 43 cents on the day. While it is too soon to say whether the IEA made the right decision, it looks as if the decision may have been just a temporary boost, and may not last as long as initially thought. Some called the release "QE3," as it is intended to spur global economies by driving down oil prices. Since it's politically unpopular for the Federal Reserve to do a third round of quantitative easing, and Congress is not going to do anymore spending, governments around the world felt that something had to be done. Thus, the SPR release. The dollar has weakened this week, as the Euro is rising on news of the Greece bailout, helping to add to oil's rise. With 30 million barrels coming from the U.S., it's obvious that the U.S. had a major influence in getting the release announced. Oil stocks such as Exxon Mobil XOM, Chevron CVX, and BP BP have risen around 3% in the past week since the announcement was made. Traders may want to consider adding to these positions or initiating new ones as it looks, for right now anyway, that the SPR release was nothing but a shot in the arm. How long it lasts is anybody's guess, but over time, it will be nothing more than a sugar rush. We all know what happens when you come off a sugar rush. You come crashing down hard.