Oil, gas prices rise in extended cold snap

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 -- ...

Oil rises above $90...
SINGAPORE (AP) -- Oil Prices rose above $90 a barrel Wednesday in Asia after a report showed U.S. crude supplies dropped more than expected for a second week, which suggests demand is improving. Benchmark oil for February delivery was up 19 cents to $90.01 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 45 cents to settle at $89.82 on Tuesday. The American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday that crude inventories fell 5.8 ...

Oil rises above $90 amid US crude supply drop
SINGAPORE (AP) - Oil Prices rose above $90 a barrel Wednesday in Asia after a report showed U.S. crude supplies dropped more than expected for a second week, which suggests demand is improving. Benchmark oil for February delivery was up 20 cents to $90.02 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 45 cents to settle at $89.82 on Tuesday. The American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday that crude inventories fell 5.8 million...

Ohio average gas price tops $3, 1st time since '08
The average price for Gasoline in Ohio has pushed past $3 a gallon for the first time in more than two years. A daily survey from AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express on Wednesday put the statewide average price for regular-grade Gasoline at about $3.01 per gallon. That's up from $2.96 on Tuesday. AAA Ohio Auto Club spokeswoman Kimberly Schwind says the last time the average topped the $3 mark was on Oct. 11, 2008. At that time, prices were declining from an all-time high of...

Raymond J. Learsy: As Oil Pierces $90/Barrel Time for the President Finally to Act
Since the beginning of the Obama presidency the price of oil has nearly tripled from slightly over $30 in February 2009 to over $90 on the New York Mercantile Exchange this day. To date the president has barely dealt with this malignancy threatening to destabilize the feeble Economic Recovery he has sponsored to date. Yet during the Presidential Campaign Candidate Obama presented himself as resolute on the issue of Oil Prices and their impact on the nations' well being. In August 2008 much to...

Soybeans, corn rise on Argentina weather concerns
NEW YORK — Grain prices rose Wednesday as investors worried that a drought in Argentina might damage soybeans and corn growing in that country. Argentina is the world’s second-largest exporter of corn and the third-largest exporter of soybeans. The country has had dry weather for the past seven weeks. If that keeps up, it could reduce the size of the country’s harvest. "The fear is the pattern is going to continue," said Tim Hannagan, senior grain analyst for brokerage PFG Bes...

Mass. gas prices reach $3 per gallon mark
BOSTON — The average price of Gasoline in Massachusetts has reached $3 per gallon. AAA Southern New England reported on Monday that the price for self-serve regular inched up another penny in the past week, just enough to hit $3 mark that many motorists have already been paying. The Massachusetts average is two cents above the national average and 42 cents more than at the same time last year. AAA’s survey found prices as low as $2.91 and as high as $3.16 per gallon....

Oil settles closer to $90
Oil prices rose Tuesday, as traders remained optimistic about improving demand for energy products as millions of Americans travel for the holidays. Here's how energy contracts traded. Crude rose 45 cents to settle at $89.82 per barrel. Gasoline gained 2.07 cents to settle at $2.3985 a gallon. Heating oil added 2.69 cents to settle at $2.5164 a gallon. Natural Gas fell 17.8 cents to settle at $4.237 per 1,000 cubic feet. Brent Crude rose 46 cents to settle at $93.20 per barrel. Will Mrs. Obama d...

China Bumps Up Gas Prices, Oil Producers Surge
Markets in Asia were mixed Wednesday. In Hong Kong the Hang Seng Index inched up 0.2% to 23,045 and in China the Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.9% to 2,878. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index lost 0.2% to end the day at 10,346. An announcement from the NDRC, or the National Development and Reform Commission, that Gas Prices would rise by $46.55 per ton sent shares in Oil companies soaring today. Gas prices in China are controlled by the government, and this is the third price hike this year, instituted...

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 ...

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...

Oil prices rise as cold weather hits Europe, US
Crude Oil Prices advanced Monday, as bitterly cold weather in Europe and the United States boosted expectations of rising heating fuel demand over the Christmas holiday period. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for January delivery, gained 79 cents to 88.81 US dollars. Brent North Sea crude for delivery in February climbed 1.07 cents to 92.74 US dollars a barrel in London trade. "Crude Oil Prices rose slightly higher... as freezing conditions in Europe and the US northeast increased th...

US Gas Demand Should Fall for Good after '06 Peak
Monday, December 20, 2010 By Jonathan Fahey, Associated Press New York (AP) - The world's biggest gas-guzzling nation has limits after all. After seven decades of mostly uninterrupted growth, U.S. Gasoline demand is at the start of a long-term decline. By 2030, Americans will burn at least 20 percent less Gasoline than today, experts say, even as millions of more cars clog the roads. The country's thirst for Gasoline is shrinking as cars and trucks become more fuel-efficient, the government...

Energy and global warming news for December 21: Wind turbines on farmland may benefit crops; Religious right attacks environment
Wind Turbines On Farmland May Benefit Crops The giant turbine blades that generate Renewable Energy might also help corn and soybean crops stay cooler and dryer, help them fend off fungal infestations and improve their ability to extract growth-enhancing Carbon Dioxide [CO2] from the air and soil. Speaking at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union, a scientific society, in San Francisco, a researcher at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory and his co-researcher f...

Why the coming natural gas boom isn't all it's 'fracced' up to be
Please pardon my poor punning, and let me explain: "Fraccing" (rhymes with "cracking") is the Oil and Natural Gas industry's an informal contraction for the technology called Hydraulic Fracturing, in which water (and in some cases, a chemical mixture) is pumped deep underground to fracture shale and rock and thus free up trapped Oil and gas deposits. The financial media has been buzzing with stories proclaiming a new era for America's Natural Gas industry as new fraccing technology has enabled...

Consumer Price Index, November 2010
Correction: Consumer prices rose 2.0% in the 12 months to November, following a 2.4% increase in October. The 0.4 percentage point decrease can be largely attributed to a slowdown in the growth rate of energy and food prices, and a decline in clothing prices. Energy Prices rose 6.7% during the 12 months to November, on the heels of a 9.1% increase in October. Prices at the pump were 7.2% higher than a year earlier, following an 8.8% increase the previous month. Electricity Prices increased 5.9% ...

Oil hovers near 2-year high on cold snap, tighter stocks
By Randolph Fabi Singapore (Reuters) - Oil Prices climbed toward a two-year high on Thursday as cold weather in the United States boosted demand, slashed stockpiles and contributed to a stronger-than-expected rise in fuel consumption in 2010. U.S.... Will oil prices stabilize around $80? Singapore (Reuters) - Oil Prices climbed toward a two-year high on Thursday as cold weather in the United States boosted demand, slashed stockpiles and contributed to a stronger-than-expected rise in fuel cons...

Oil hovers near 2-year high on cold snap, tighter stocks
By Randolph Fabi Singapore | Thu Dec 23, 2010 3:02am EST Singapore (Reuters) - Oil Prices climbed toward a two-year high on Thursday as cold weather in the United States boosted demand, slashed stockpiles and contributed to a stronger-than-expected rise in fuel consumption in 2010. U.S. crude for February rose 25 cents to $90.73 a barrel by 0714 GMT (2:14 a.m. ET), after settling at the highest level since October 2008 on Wednesday. ICE Brent Crude traded 14 cents higher at $93.79. Abnormally...

Renewable power rises by a fifth
More than a quarter of the electricity generated in Scotland last year was produced from wind, hydro and other renewable sources. Scotland exported nearly a quarter of the total power produced. Domestic demand for electricity continued to fall - down by 4% in 2009 and down by 10% between 2005 and 2009. Britain saw the same level of decline over those four years, but Scotland continues to have higher energy use. Electricity demand per meter was significantly above average in the north of Scotlan...

Fatal oil blast spotlights Mexico's fuel thieves
By Robert Campbell Mexico City | Mon Dec 20, 2010 6:09pm EST Mexico City (Reuters) - Mexican thieves have long had a lucrative sideline in siphoning fuel from the country`s Pipelines to sell on the black market and although authorities have made progress in cutting the amount of oil diverted, few of the accused end up behind bars. Authorities are investigating whether a fuel tap gone wrong was to blame for a pipeline Explosion that killed 28 people outside Mexico City on Sunday. The tragedy h...

Oil rises to 2-year high near $91 as equities jump
The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P; 500 index both rose Wednesday to their highest levels since July 2008 after the Commerce Department said the U.S. economy rose in the Third Quarter at an annual rate of 2.6 percent, a slight increase from its earlier estimate. "The price of crude is highly connected to the direction of the equities markets and confidence in a global recovery," Sander Capital Advisors said in a report. "When equities go up, it tends to mean confidence is up and thus c...

Prices in Iran rise after lifting of subsidies
Reporting from Tehran and Beirut — The Iranian government's removal of decades-old subsidies for food and energy in an attempt to boost its troubled economy has spurred price increases on everything from fruit and vegetables to Gasoline, generated work stoppages and emboldened the political opposition. In Tehran, the nation's capital, taxi fares that officially were to rise by 10% shot much higher as drivers imposed their own price increases. Some truckers across the country refused to ...

Gasoline Futures up on Tighter Northeast Supplies
Source: ABC Gasoline futures gained on Tuesday, as a problem at a refinery in the Caribbean contributed to tight supplies in the heavily populated Northeast and promised to help keep pump prices up heading into the New Year. Gasoline rose 2.03 cents to $2.3981 a gallon in midday trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude Oil Prices climbed as well, adding 35 cents at $89.72 a barrel. The Hovensa refinery at St. Croix, Virgin Islands, has had trouble restarting a key unit used to process ...

Summary Box: Copper prices jump on China imports
COPPER GLISTENS: Copper prices jumped after a report showed a big increase in China's imports of the metal. Copper settled at $4.276 a pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was a record high settlement in dollar terms. When adjusted for Inflation, however, the previous record of $4.0755 a pound reached on May 23, 2006, is still higher. METALS GAIN: Gold, silver, platinum and palladium also rose. ENERGY BOOST: Crudeoil settled just shy of $90 a barrel while most energy products were h...

Timeline: The rise and fall of US gasoline use
Experts say U.S. Gasoline demand is at the start of a long-term decline following seven decades of mostly uninterrupted growth. Here are key moments marking the rise and fall: 1905 — Country's first Gasoline filling station is built in St. Louis. 1946 — Gasoline demand rises 25 percent the year after World War II ends. 1952 — During Korean War, demand falls by 1 percent. It's the only decline between 1945 and 1974. 1974 — Arab oil embargo causes demand to drop by 2 percen...