Gas prices continue to hover near high mark...
0 views
Skip to first unread message
The Captain
Nov 24, 2007, 9:03:26 AM11/24/07
to News Sarasota
Gas prices continue to hover near high mark...
SARASOTA, FL. (NS/AP/AAA) -
As shoppers hit the roads in droves to go shopping, gas prices
continued to skirt along at close to record levels...
Meanwhile, oil futures resumed their march toward $100 per barrel,
putting additional pressure on the pumps...
According to AAA, a gallon of regular gasoline in the Bradenton-
Sarasota-Venice market was $3.175 on Friday, up a half-penny from the
previous day but still shy of the $3.182 record set on Nov. 16...
In markets to the immediate south, prices were holding steady but at
higher levels...
In the Fort Myers-Cape Coral market, a gallon of regular was $3.193 on
Friday. The record in that market is $3.204, set on Nov. 14...
Statewide, prices were likewise flat -- at $3.148, AAA reported...
Gas prices retreated further nationally from their most recent peak,
falling 0.1 cent overnight to a national average of $3.086 a gallon...
The national average rose sharply from mid-October until last week,
but has fallen 2.6 cents since, countering predictions that gas prices
were destined to add another 10 to 15 cents a gallon to catch up with
skyrocketing crude prices...
Analysts now say gas prices are likely to hold steady or even slide a
little unless oil rises beyond $100 a barrel...
Oil futures rose to a new record close in light holiday trading on
concerns about tight heating oil supplies while also drawing support
from a buoyant stock market...
The oil pricing drew support Friday from heating oil futures, which
set new records on concerns about tight supplies heading into the
winter heating season...
Inventories of distillates, which include heating oil, fell sharply
last week, the Energy Department reported on Wednesday...
Light, sweet crude for January delivery rose 89 cents to settle at
$98.18 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, besting the
previous settlement record by 15 cents, while December heating oil
futures rose 1.68 cents to settle at $2.7042 a gallon after earlier
setting a new trading record of $2.7181 a gallon...
Crude prices reached a trading record of $99.29 a barrel on Wednesday,
and are within the range of inflation-adjusted highs set in early
1980. Depending on how the adjustment is calculated, $38 a barrel then
would be worth $96 to $103 or more today...
Heating oil prices are rising due to falling supplies at home and
overseas, analysts said...
"The heating oil market, it's more of a global story," said Andrew
Lebow, senior vice president of MF Global Inc. in New York. "Because
of refinery problems in Europe," he said, supplies "are kind of
tight."
Energy futures also drew support from Friday's rise in the stock
market. Energy investors often view stocks as a proxy for the
economy's strength, betting that a stronger economy will use more oil
and gasoline...
Oil traders shrugged off data suggesting OPEC is increasing production
more quickly than expected. Oil Movements, an oil tanker tracking firm
based in the UK, reported that Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries oil exports are likely to jump by an average of 720,000
barrels a day in the four weeks that end Dec. 8, more than the
expected 500,000 barrels per day...
Oil prices rose 43 percent between August and early November on
falling domestic inventories, concerns about supply disruptions
overseas and, many analysts argue, speculative buying. But recent
forecasts have suggested high prices are cutting demand. The inventory
picture has become cloudy, too...
Two weeks ago, domestic oil inventories rose unexpectedly. Last week,
supplies fell more than expected, but rose at the Nymex delivery point
in Cushing, Okla. Falling supplies at the terminal are seen as a
symptom of a tight market, but last week's gain in Cushing supplies
eased those concerns...
In other Nymex trading Friday, December gasoline rose 2.99 cents to
settle at $2.467 a gallon while December natural gas rose 15 cents to
settle at $7.70 per 1,000 cubic feet...
Analysts warned that the thin trading volumes on a Thanksgiving
holiday-shortened trading day exaggerated the effect of each trade...
"Given the thin trade, any minor bullish headlines will be capable of
spiking this market to the upside," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of
Ritterbusch & Associates, in Galena, Ill., in a research note...
Truckers are still wondering why the National average price for #2
Diesel is over $3.42 per gallon with some area's out West above $4.00
per gallon...
Meanwhile, the Fuel Surcharge for delivery by air, sea, train and
truck continues to go up. This in turn is causing retail prices to
rise for everything imaginable that you buy...
SARASOTA, FL. (NS/AP/AAA) -
As shoppers hit the roads in droves to go shopping, gas prices
continued to skirt along at close to record levels...
Meanwhile, oil futures resumed their march toward $100 per barrel,
putting additional pressure on the pumps...
According to AAA, a gallon of regular gasoline in the Bradenton-
Sarasota-Venice market was $3.175 on Friday, up a half-penny from the
previous day but still shy of the $3.182 record set on Nov. 16...
In markets to the immediate south, prices were holding steady but at
higher levels...
In the Fort Myers-Cape Coral market, a gallon of regular was $3.193 on
Friday. The record in that market is $3.204, set on Nov. 14...
Statewide, prices were likewise flat -- at $3.148, AAA reported...
Gas prices retreated further nationally from their most recent peak,
falling 0.1 cent overnight to a national average of $3.086 a gallon...
The national average rose sharply from mid-October until last week,
but has fallen 2.6 cents since, countering predictions that gas prices
were destined to add another 10 to 15 cents a gallon to catch up with
skyrocketing crude prices...
Analysts now say gas prices are likely to hold steady or even slide a
little unless oil rises beyond $100 a barrel...
Oil futures rose to a new record close in light holiday trading on
concerns about tight heating oil supplies while also drawing support
from a buoyant stock market...
The oil pricing drew support Friday from heating oil futures, which
set new records on concerns about tight supplies heading into the
winter heating season...
Inventories of distillates, which include heating oil, fell sharply
last week, the Energy Department reported on Wednesday...
Light, sweet crude for January delivery rose 89 cents to settle at
$98.18 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, besting the
previous settlement record by 15 cents, while December heating oil
futures rose 1.68 cents to settle at $2.7042 a gallon after earlier
setting a new trading record of $2.7181 a gallon...
Crude prices reached a trading record of $99.29 a barrel on Wednesday,
and are within the range of inflation-adjusted highs set in early
1980. Depending on how the adjustment is calculated, $38 a barrel then
would be worth $96 to $103 or more today...
Heating oil prices are rising due to falling supplies at home and
overseas, analysts said...
"The heating oil market, it's more of a global story," said Andrew
Lebow, senior vice president of MF Global Inc. in New York. "Because
of refinery problems in Europe," he said, supplies "are kind of
tight."
Energy futures also drew support from Friday's rise in the stock
market. Energy investors often view stocks as a proxy for the
economy's strength, betting that a stronger economy will use more oil
and gasoline...
Oil traders shrugged off data suggesting OPEC is increasing production
more quickly than expected. Oil Movements, an oil tanker tracking firm
based in the UK, reported that Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries oil exports are likely to jump by an average of 720,000
barrels a day in the four weeks that end Dec. 8, more than the
expected 500,000 barrels per day...
Oil prices rose 43 percent between August and early November on
falling domestic inventories, concerns about supply disruptions
overseas and, many analysts argue, speculative buying. But recent
forecasts have suggested high prices are cutting demand. The inventory
picture has become cloudy, too...
Two weeks ago, domestic oil inventories rose unexpectedly. Last week,
supplies fell more than expected, but rose at the Nymex delivery point
in Cushing, Okla. Falling supplies at the terminal are seen as a
symptom of a tight market, but last week's gain in Cushing supplies
eased those concerns...
In other Nymex trading Friday, December gasoline rose 2.99 cents to
settle at $2.467 a gallon while December natural gas rose 15 cents to
settle at $7.70 per 1,000 cubic feet...
Analysts warned that the thin trading volumes on a Thanksgiving
holiday-shortened trading day exaggerated the effect of each trade...
"Given the thin trade, any minor bullish headlines will be capable of
spiking this market to the upside," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of
Ritterbusch & Associates, in Galena, Ill., in a research note...
Truckers are still wondering why the National average price for #2
Diesel is over $3.42 per gallon with some area's out West above $4.00
per gallon...
Meanwhile, the Fuel Surcharge for delivery by air, sea, train and
truck continues to go up. This in turn is causing retail prices to
rise for everything imaginable that you buy...
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages