Its Too Early to be Bullish on Nat Gas

Gas pump prices rise above $3
Positive economic news helped push Oil Prices higher on Thursday. The Commerce Department said that consumers spent more in November than the month before. And the Labor Department said that the number of people applying for Unemployment Benefits fell by 3,000 last week to 420,000. A weaker dollar also supported higher oil prices. Since oil is priced in dollars, it becomes more affordable to investors with foreign currency like the euro as The Dollar falls. Benchmark crude rose $1.03 to settle...

New Interest in Turning Gas to Diesel
By MATTHEW L. WALD NYT WASHINGTON — Diesel and jet fuel are usually made from Crude Oil. But with Oil Prices rising even as a glut of Natural Gas keeps prices for that fuel extraordinarily cheap, a bit of expensive alchemy is suddenly starting to look financially appealing: turning Natural Gas into liquid fuels. A South African firm, Sasol, announced Monday that it would spend just over 1 billion Canadian Dollars to buy a half-interest in a Canadian Shale Gas field, so it can explore turning...

Gasoline Grinch arrives with pump prices above $3
Pump prices continue to rise in the Washington metropolitan area. Gasoline prices ticked up a penny over the past week. NEW YORK -- The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline topped $3 a gallon on Thursday, just in time for the holiday driving trips millions of Americans will take this week. The average pump price rose about a cent and a half a gallon overnight, to $3.01, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. That's 14 cents more than a month ago and 43 ...

Diesel, jet fuel made from natural gas
Image by philipbouchard via Flickr NY Times: Diesel and jet fuel are usually made from Crude Oil. But with Oil Prices rising even as a glut of Natural Gas keeps prices for that fuel extraordinarily cheap, a bit of expensive alchemy is suddenly starting to look financially appealing: turning Natural Gas into liquid fuels. A South African firm, Sasol, announced Monday that it would spend just over 1 billion Canadian Dollars to buy a half-interest in a Canadian Shale Gas field, so it can explore...

Difference Between AAII Bullish And Bearish Sentiment Highest Since 2004
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Crude Market Perspectives As WTI Passes $90
Heating Oil Prices followed the lead set by Gasoline prices on Monday, by breaking out over their critical resistance at 251.61 on Tuesday, finishing three points over that, at 251.64. Crude Oil Prices did not finish over $90.76, but they did finish at their highest level in two years at $89.82. And, now that Gasoline and heating Oil Prices have both broken their critical levels, we expect that crude Oil Prices will follow rather soon. The main factors pushing prices higher were optimism over ...

One Minute Macro Update
US: Today's slew of economic data will likely be viewed through the growth-tinted glasses that were illustrated yesterday. The upsized GDP, which was a disappointment relative to expectations, was still an upsize and the market chose to take that along with Plosser's commentary as a Bullish/Hawkish reflection of reality. We remain suspect, but do give growth its due. Despite the uptick in economic sentiment, we will wait for confirmation on sustainability before abandoning our short end yield cu...

Frustration Builds Over High Food Prices In China
Students at the No. 2 High School in Liupanshui City of southwestern China's Guizhou province had endured rising living expenses for months. But on November 22, after a new round of food price increase — though a relatively minor one of no more than 50 cents per meal — they had had enough. More than 1,000 students gathered in school canteen, smashing windows and vandalizing the cafeteria facilities. The event in Guizhou underscores a broader discontent over rising Inflation across C...

Gas prices top $3 a gallon
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Gas Prices surpassed the milestone $3 mark Thursday for the first time since Oct. 17, 2008, as the national average compiled by motorist group AAA reached $3.013 a gallon. Gas prices have risen more than 4% from $2.872 a month ago and are nearly 16% higher than the $2.585 average a year ago, according to the AAA figures. Email Print Comment Prices have been climbing steadily since bottoming out at $1.616 in December 2008. However, the average price is down $1.101 -- ...

Gasoline, nationally, tops $3 per gallon
NEW YORK, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- The national average price of gasoline breached the $3 mark Thursday as oil prices in New York flirted with two-year highs. Crude oil prices have escalated on encouraging economic news, cold winter weather and recent draws in U.S. stockpiles. Drivers have also increased time spent on the road this year, giving momentum to oil, which is a bellwether for consumer prices. AAA said a gallon of unleaded gasoline across the country cost on average $3.013 Thursday, up from $2...

Gasoline Grinch arrives with pump prices above $3
A recent study from business management firm PortiaGroup, using data from OSIP, says consumers will likely pay about $1.35 more a gallon during the 12 days of Christmas (from Dec. 25 to Jan. 6) than during the same period of 2008-2009. The rising price of Crude Oil has been pushing up the price of Gasoline for the past month, and the trend continued Thursday. Benchmark crude rose 78 cents to $91.26 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in midday trading. That's the highest point in two...

MEMRI Blog Arabic English
The Iraqi economy, which is driven almost entirely by oil revenues, has made no progress in 2010 compared with the year before. The reasons behind the poor performance are a fragile security situation, destroyed infrastructure, a poor political situation caused by the search for personal gain [enormous Corruption], and the complete absence of a road map to extricate the country from a state of torpor. Despite rising Oil Prices, the Iraqi Budget in 2010 has failed to address the growing needs to...

Gas prices hit $3 a gallon, highest in 27 months. Will they go higher?
Now at an average price of $3 a gallon, Gasoline could cost at least $3.50 a gallon by spring. Rising Gas Prices go hand in hand with higher Oil Prices, driven up by outlook for a stronger economy....

TN Moving Stories: 100th Countdown Clock in NYC Subways, Indias Railways Prioritize Onions, and Spain Now Leads Europe in HSR
NYC’s subways have their 100th countdown clock — exceeding the MTA’s original goal to get 75 stations online by the end of the year. You can still buy tickets for American Airlines flights online-but not on Orbitz, because the airline wants to cut out that electronic middleman.  (USA Today) The U.S. Surface Transportation Board levied the first fine in its 14 year history—$250,000 against the Canadian National Railway Company for failure to report blockages at its ...

Stock index futures unchanged
PARIS | Thu Dec 23, 2010 4:37am EST PARIS (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a flat opening on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.04 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.01 percent and NASDAQ 100 futures up 0.01 percent at 0917 GMT (4:17 a.m. ET). Energy shares will be in the spotlight as Oil Prices climbed to near a two-year high on Thursday, boosted by an unexpected surge in global demand that has fueled the biggest drop in U.S. Crude Oil stockpiles in more ...

Oil prices trade near two-year highs...
Oil prices traded close to recent two-year highs on Thursday, as traders continued to absorb news that US crude reserves fell by more than double market expectations last week. Brent North Sea crude for delivery in February rose eight cents to 93.73 dollars per barrel after soaring on Wednesday to 93.94 dollars -- a level last seen in early October 2008. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for February, gained 10 cents to 90.58 dollars on Thursday, after touching a similar peak of 90.8...

Gasoline Tops $3 A Gallon For First Time At Christmas
Daily Finance: It may be the happiest season of the year, but higher Oil Prices that have translated into Gasoline prices topping $3 a gallon have many motorists frowning. According to the latest survey by the AAA motor club, the nationwide average for a gallon of regular unleaded fuel surpassed $3 a gallon Thursday, its highest level in more than two years. Read the whole story: Daily Finance Get HuffPost Business On Twitter and Facebook! Know something we don't? E-mail us at ...

Stock index futures unchanged
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange December 3, 2010. PARIS (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a flat opening on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.04 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.01 percent and NASDAQ 100 futures up 0.01 percent at 0917 GMT (4:17 a.m. ET). Energy shares will be in the spotlight as Oil Prices climbed to near a two-year high on Thursday, boosted by an unexpected surge in global demand that has fueled the biggest drop ...

Oil climbs to 2-year high on frigid weather, rising
Singapore (Reuters) - Oil rallied to its highest price in more than two years on Friday, supported by unusually frigid weather that has fueled demand, depleted supplies and stoked inflationary worries from South Korea to India. European benchmark ICE Brent Crude for February hit an intra-day high of $94.74 a barrel, the highest level since October 2008, before easing back to trade up 32 cents at $94.57 a barrel by 1:49 a.m. EST. Global benchmark U.S. crude futures, which hit a 26-month high of ...

Treasury prices fall, stocks end flat as holiday weekend begins
U.S. stocks ended a strong week on a quiet note Thursday, as mixed economic data kept investors from jumping in ahead of a long holiday weekend. The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 14 points, or 0.1%; the S&P 500 fell 2 points, or 0.2%; and the NASDAQ slipped 6 points, or 0.2%. The three major indexes were about 1% higher for the week. On Wednesday, stocks ended at fresh two-year highs as Oil Prices topped $90 a barrel. Reports Thursday showed Jobless Claims barely budging, new home sa...

No sign of OPEC concern with oil heading for $100
Will Oil Prices stabilize around $80? Cairo (Reuters) - Core OPEC ministers said on Friday they saw no need to supply the world with more crude as Oil Prices traded near a two-year high and some consumers said they fear a rally above $100 per barrel would spur Inflation. OPEC's most influential oil minister, Saudi Arabia's Ali al-Naimi, said he was still happy with an oil price of $70-80 per barrel and there was no need for an extra OPEC meeting before the next scheduled one June. U.S. crude cl...

Millions of holiday travelers expected
Holiday travelers can expect clogged roads, high Gas Prices and some Bad Weather this weekend. As millions of people get on the road to visit friends and family, average Gas Prices on Christmas Day could hit $3 a gallon for regular unleaded — 40 cents more than last year and up $1.35 over 2008, said Tom Kloza of the Oil Price Information Service. That would be a record. "We've never had a Christmas with $3 a gallon gas," Kloza said. Despite the high cost of car travel, auto club AAA still ...

No sign of OPEC concern with oil heading for $100
By Sherine El Madany and Shaimaa Fayed Cairo | Fri Dec 24, 2010 9:46am EST Cairo (Reuters) - Core OPEC ministers said on Friday they saw no need to supply the world with more crude as Oil Prices traded near a two-year high and some consumers said they fear a rally above $100 per barrel would spur Inflation. OPEC's most influential oil minister, Saudi Arabia's Ali al-Naimi, said he was still happy with an oil price of $70-80 per barrel and there was no need for an extra OPEC meeting before the...

Arab OPEC ministers to meet as oil price tops $91
By Sherine El Madany and Shaimaa Fayed Cairo | Thu Dec 23, 2010 1:12pm EST Cairo (Reuters) - Arab OPEC ministers began arriving in Cairo on Thursday ahead of talks expected to broach how high an Oil price the world economy can stand as crude jumped to a more than two-year high above $91 a barrel. A full conference of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries earlier this month elected to make no change to an output policy it has stuck to since December 2008. Since then Oil has mai...

T. Boone Pickens: Our Ongoing Energy Crisis
One billion dollars every day. That's how much money we're sending overseas to fund our dangerous and growing Addiction to OPEC oil. This year, I've spent a lot of time talking about Natural Gas, and the need to tap into everything domestic--from nuclear to Natural Gas, from wind to Ethanol, from solar to domestic oil--to address our energy needs. Our dependence on OPEC oil is a national crisis. It threatens our economy, our National Security and our environment. How much of a concern is it?...