Oil and gasoline futures rose Monday as a tropical storm heading into the Gulf of Mexico and the U.S. dollar both weakened.
Ida had been listed as a Category 1 hurricane until midmorning, a storm that can take 1.3 million barrels off the market.
Yet the U.S. National Hurricane Center downgraded Ida to a tropical storm once its top sustained winds fell close to 70 mph and it appeared to be heading east of the most crowded region in the gulf as far as energy production goes.
There are also huge surpluses of crude, gasoline in distillates because of the recession, meaning the reaction to the storm was muted as far as energy prices.
Ida was the first Atlantic hurricane to approach the United States this year.
The latest storm track projection showed Ida brushing near Louisiana and Mississippi, then making landfall overnight near Alabama before continuing across north Florida.
Benchmark crude for December delivery on Monday gained $1.85 to $79.28 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Since hurricanes Gustav and Ike raked the gulf last year, there have been no major threats to the energy complex and demand for crude has left the country well supplied.
Crude oil stocks are 23.8 million barrels, or 7.62 percent, higher than a year ago. Gasoline stocks are up 13.6 million barrels, or 7 percent, and distillate stocks are up 39.8 million barrels, or 31.2 percent, higher than a year ago, according to energy consultancy Cameron Hanover.
The dollar, however, continues to fall and helped to push oil prices higher to start the week.
Investors holding euros or other strong currencies can buy more dollar-based crude, and that has sent prices higher throughout the year. Oil rose to $82 last month, its 2009 high, from $32 in December.
"At this point it seem unlikely that there will be any major damage to the facilities in the Gulf, yet the market has to be cautious," said PFGBest analyst Phil Flynn. "It is hard to determine how much of the rally in oil is Ida related and how much is it is dollar related."
The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline fell a half penny overnight to $2.664, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. That's 18.8 cents more than a month ago, and 40.5 cents more than gas cost at this time last year.
The Energy Department releases its figures on retail gas prices later Monday.
In other Nymex trading, heating oil rose 4.8 cents to $2.0495 a gallon. Gasoline for December delivery gained 4.95 cents to $1.9738 a gallon. Natural gas for December delivery lost 1.8 cents to $4.577 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude for December delivery fell $1.50 to $77.37 on the ICE Futures exchange.
This is an extract from http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i4_q7DtiEHvUTVNlJoaJ9ufkd1kgD9BS3MV00
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For Oil & Gas Prices , Oil Price History, Oil Price Research.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Gas prices take slow turn down
This is the time of year that usually brings price drops at the gasoline pumps, but, gas prices throughout Southern California hover around the $3-a-gallon mark.
The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $3.013 per gallon, which is a penny less than last week, a nickel less than last month, and 24 cents higher than last year.
On the Central Coast, the average price is $3.10, down three-tenths of a cent from last week, six cents lower than a month ago, and 27 cents above last year.
In the Inland Empire, the average per gallon price is $2.996, which is eight-tenths of one cent less than last week, five cents less than last month, and 29 cents more than last year.
“For almost half of this year, Southern Californians have been paying gas prices that have stayed within 20 cents of $3 a gallon – either above or below. It seems unlikely that we’ll see a significant price drop outside of that range for the rest of this year," Auto Club spokesperson Jeffrey Spring said in a statement.
This is an extract from http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/losangeles/stories/2009/11/02/daily37.html
The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $3.013 per gallon, which is a penny less than last week, a nickel less than last month, and 24 cents higher than last year.
On the Central Coast, the average price is $3.10, down three-tenths of a cent from last week, six cents lower than a month ago, and 27 cents above last year.
In the Inland Empire, the average per gallon price is $2.996, which is eight-tenths of one cent less than last week, five cents less than last month, and 29 cents more than last year.
“For almost half of this year, Southern Californians have been paying gas prices that have stayed within 20 cents of $3 a gallon – either above or below. It seems unlikely that we’ll see a significant price drop outside of that range for the rest of this year," Auto Club spokesperson Jeffrey Spring said in a statement.
This is an extract from http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/losangeles/stories/2009/11/02/daily37.html
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Cap and Trade, Clean energy Bill, Carbon Credits News, Climate Change News & Carbon Market news
Cap and Trade, Clean energy Bill, Carbon Credits News, Climate Change News & Carbon Market news: "Clean Energy News, Carbon Credits News,
Climate Change News & Carbon Market News"
Climate Change News & Carbon Market News"
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