Under the radar: Saudi oil exports to U.S. fall to 22-year low (Re-post)

Under the radar: Some trends are obvious enough and visible to all investors. Others are more-subtle, but are just as potent, and these often slip 'under the radar.'

Case in point: Saudi Arabia's oil exports to the United States have fallen to a 22-year low, at 745,000 barrels per day (bpd) in August, the latest month for which data is available, from 1.14 million bpd in July, according to data compiled by the U.S. Energy Information Agency. August's 745,000 bpd total is the lowest since December 1987. On a year-over-year basis (August 2008-August 2009), those exports are down about 50%.

Further, Saudi Arabia now ranks fifth in oil exports to the U.S., behind: Canada, 2 million bpd; Mexico, 1.06 million bpd; Venezuela, 1.01 million bpd, and Nigeria, 877,000 bpd. Iraq is sixth, exporting 500,000 bpd to the U.S. Farther down the list is Russia, exporting 229,000 bpd to the U.S.