Soybeans, corn rise on Argentina weather concerns

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 ...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Gold and dollar slide Thursday
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold lost $7, 0.6 percent, to $1,380.40 per troy ounce. Crude Oil Prices for February delivery added $1.05 to $91.53 per barrel. The benchmark 10-year treasury note fell 13/32, causing yields to rise to 3.397 from Wednesday's 3.348 percent, as The Dollar index dropped 0.33 percent. The euro rose to $1.3117 from Wednesday's $1.3099. Against the yen, The Dollar dropped to 82.92 yen from Wednesday's 83.54 yen. The dollar fell across most of...

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 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...

Get ready for skyrocketing energy prices
Earlier this week the president said his singular focus for the next two years will be on The Economy. Of course we have heard this from the president since he took office and he told us that we must pass the now failed stimulus package to keep Unemployment from reaching eight-percent. Now, as Unemployment has hovered near ten-percent for nearly two years, President Obama continues to pay lip service to the economy while implementing policy that is detrimental to Economic Growth. The Politico is...

Oil, gas prices rise in extended cold snap
Combined with heavy winter demand for heating fuel, light, sweet crude for February delivery prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange added 61 cents, 0.6 percent, to $90.43 per barrel. Heating Oil Prices gained 1.18 cents to $2.5409 per gallon. Reformulated Gasoline prices gained 2.04 cents to $2.402 per gallon. Henry Hub Natural Gas prices shed 5.9 cents to $4 per million British thermal units. At the pump, the national average price of unleaded Gasoline jumped to $2.997 per gallon Wednesday...

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 -- ...

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...

J. Andrews, others to get special Grammys
A formal acknowledgment of the presentation of the prizes for career excellence will be made as well during the 53rd annual Grammy Awards telecast, which will be held at Staples Center in Los Angeles Feb. 13, the Academy said Wednesday. LOS ANGELES, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Prince Frederic von Anhalt, the husband of Hungarian-born actress Zsa Zsa Gabor, was hospitalized in California after accidentally gluing his eye shut. 'Speak' is No. 1 on the U.S. album chart NEW YORK, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Crude Oil ...

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 ...

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 ...

Its Too Early to be Bullish on Nat Gas
I mentioned last week that we like the Energy sector, particularly Oil and Coal. The two stocks mentioned Arch Coal (ACI) and SunCor (SU). Several people tagged me to ask about Natural Gas.The Bullish argument is rising Oil Prices will drag Nat Gas with it. The bear case, however, is controlling at the moment. Given the huge new finds in both shale rock frac-ing and Barnett and Haynesville finds, along with the Marcellus find, makes the fundamental supply story Bearish. North America has a ~20...

Oil hovers above $89 ahead of US supply reports
SINGAPORE (AP) - Oil Prices hovered above $89 a barrel Tuesday in Asia as traders anticipated that weekly U.S. crude inventories would fall in a sign of improved demand. Benchmark oil for February delivery was up 4 cents to $89.41 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 77 cents to settle at $89.37 on Monday. Crude inventories likely fell 2.4 million barrels last week, according to analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy in...

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...

Arab OPEC ministers to meet as oil price tops $91
Will Oil Prices stabilize around $80? 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 maintained a more than 30 percent rally fr...

Crude oil climbs above $90
NEW YORK, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Crude Oil Prices climbed Tuesday, adding 68 cents to breach the $90 mark at $90.05 per barrel as equity markets closed higher. The Dollar held steady, the dollar index rising 0.05 percent. Heating Oil Prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange added 2.93 cents to $2.5188 per gallon, finding support from increased demand due to winter weather. Reformulated blendstock Gasoline added 3.43 cents to reach $2.4121 per gallon. Henry Hub Natural Gas prices shed 1.64 cents to ...

Oil, grains rise as economic reports improve
Better news on The Economy is sending prices for oil and other commodities mostly higher. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that consumers spent more in November than the month before. Also the Labor Department said the number of people applying for Unemployment Benefits fell by 3,000 last week. Crude Oil for January delivery rose $1.03 to settle at $91.51 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Grain prices rose, but metals fell....