Retail Gas Price Report on Yahoo

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Tuesday January 25 12:44 PM ET US Retail Gasoline, Diesel Prices Up WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. retail prices for both unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel reached record highs over the last week, according to the Energy Department.

Average pump prices on Monday for gasoline stood at $1.315 a gallon, up 3.8 cents from the prior week, and diesel fuel jumped 11.1 cents to $1.418 a gallon, based on the department's weekly survey of 800 service stations.

Fuel prices are up because of high crude oil prices caused by OPEC's production cuts and cold weather in the eastern half of the United States.

Gasoline is 38 cents a gallon more than a year ago, while diesel fuel is up 45 cents.

This was the highest price for gasoline since the Energy Department began tracking weekly motor fuel prices in 1991 following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. The department began reporting weekly diesel prices in 1994.

The 11.1 cent spike for diesel is also the largest weekly price jump on record. Gasoline's 3.8 weekly increase is the most since a 6.5-cent jump in March of last year.

(-Tom Doggett, Washington Energy Desk, 202-898-8320) <<<

-- Irving (irvingf@myremarq.com), January 25, 2000

Answers

Still a damn good bargain compared to Canada or Japan.

-- Die Fledermaus (shadow@alliance.org), January 25, 2000.

Thanks Irving, here's another story along these lines:

============================================= NYMEX heatoil rebounds, crude jumps ahead of APIs>

NEW YORK, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Heating oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) rebounded and finished sharply higher Tuesday amid forecasts of a big draw in distillate stocks for last week, traders said.

Heating oil demand was also seen rising at a powerful snowstorm hit the U.S. East Coast, blanketing major cities with heavy snowfall and snarling road, rail and air travel.

February heating oil last traded at 90.00 cents a gallon, jumping 3.65 cents on the day, partly recovering from a 7.15-cents or 7.6 percent slide on Monday.

The contract struck a session high of 91.75 cents, up 5.40 cents, and traded as low as 85.00 cents.

The front month March crude oil futures, buoyant with fresh signals from OPEC that the group may extend output cuts, last traded with a hefty 42-cent gain at $28.25, erasing Monday's 37-cent loss.

"Heating oil rebounded and that lifted the whole complex up," said a NYMEX floor trader.

February gasoline ended at 76.70 cents a gallon, up 1.22 cents, after peaking at 77.90 cents. The contract posted the day's low at 75.60 cents.

In London, March Brent crude surged and last traded at $26.53, up 47 cents.

The snowstorm that hit the East Coast shut down federal offices in Washington and dumped as much as eight inches of snow in New York City.

Wind gusts of up to 30 miles per hour (48 kilometers per hour) broght blizzard conditions to some parts of New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania.

Road, rail and air links from South Caroline to southern Maine were disrupted.

In a Reuters poll ahead of the API data, traders and analysts said a cold snap that gripped the U.S. Northeast last week pushed home heating oil demand, creating a big drawdown in supplies.

The traders and analysts said they expected the nation's stocks of distillates, the bulk of which are heating oil stocks, to have dropped by an average of 4.0 million barrels.

The API said that despite the heavy snowfall that had shut its office in Washington, its staff will be able to release the weekly report after the NYMEX session ends today.

Those polled by Reuters said they expected the API data to show the largest drop in heating oil supply to come from the U.S. Northeast, the biggest single consuming region for the product.

Crude stocks were up 1.5 million barrels, as imports were seen rising and as glitches hit some refiners while others were producing below capacity because of poor refinery margins, those polled said.

Gasoline stocks rose by 1.24 million barrels on seasonal factors, they said.

"Bad weather also forced many people to limit their driving last week," said Chris Schachte, analyst at GSC Energy in Atlanta.

NYMEX traders the market was bolstered by fresh signals from OPEC that its members favored extending current output cuts beyond March. The current output curbs of about 4.3 million barrels per day is due to expire at the end of March and will OPEC will meet March 27 to decide on future policy.

Some members of OPEC have said they favor extending the curbs for three months; others have said they would propose lengthening the limits to September.

The Saudi Oil Minister, Ali al-Naimi, has said he was satisfied with current market conditions and saw no reason to alter policy for the rest of the year.

The OPEC ministers have maintained the tough stand on output cuts despite warnings from analysts that they should ease their grip on production to prevent the market from spiralling out of control, amid dwindling global supplies.

======================================= End

Thought the comment by the Saudi oil minister was interesting.

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), January 25, 2000.


-- Die Fledermaus commented:

"Still a damn good bargain compared to Canada or Japan. "

Unfortunately Die Fledermaus, we don't base OUR inflation on OTHER countries costs. I have seen a 57% rise in gasoline costs over the past year, what has your increase been????

Ray



-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), January 25, 2000.


Our worthless media strikes again - "Fuel prices are up because of high crude oil prices caused by OPEC's production cuts and cold weather in the eastern half of the United States."

1. The production cuts have been in place for some time now. There is no change in the supply (unless its due to unreported problems)

2. How funny that the oil industry would be unprepared for "cold weather" during the winter months.

Another example of our worthless media at work.

-- Guy Daley (guydaley@bwn.net), January 25, 2000.


Die Fledermaus:

You're not kidding about gas prices here in Canada. Price for 91 octane today is 62 cents/liter. For all you out there lucky enough to be metric-illiterate, that is $2.35 per U.S. gallon, and that is in Edmonton, Alberta where you can throw a stone at the refineries (in fact the thought has crossed my mind lately).

-- Steve Baxter (chicoqh@home.com), January 25, 2000.



For what it is worth from one small market.

It seems that following gasoline prices here on a daily or weekly basis is no more profitable than following the DOW over the same period. It is bouncing around. It late Dec. UL Regular was 1.27. It started to drop until it reached a low of 1.06 last week. Overnight it went to 1.27. It then went to 1.25 and is dropping again. I see no relationship over this period with anything. #2 is about 1.34 at the moment. Haven't followed it closely because I don't use my tractors in the winter.

Best wishes

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), January 25, 2000.


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