Published: Saturday, August 6, 2005
Oil prices continue setting new records
Analysts expect gasoline prices to go even higher.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Crude oil prices settled at a new high above $62 a barrel Friday, rallying late in the day on concerns about refinery snags and following the release of a positive U.S. jobs report.
Analysts said gasoline prices — now averaging $2.29 a gallon nationwide — are likely to head higher.
Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose 93 cents to close at $62.31 a barrel, a nominal record for crude since trading began on the New York Mercantile Exchange in 1983.
The previous settlement high was $61.89 a barrel set Tuesday.
Oil futures rose as high as $62.45 on Friday, a nickel shy of the intraday peak set earlier in the week.
"We'll break the all-time records next week" at the retail level, said Tom Kloza, director of Wall, N.J.-based Oil Price Information Service. The record high was $2.33 per gallon, established the week ending July 8.
Adjusting for inflation, retail gasoline prices peaked above $3 a gallon in 1981.
Kloza said retailers around the country are telling him that there are no signs of demand tapering off.
Increased demand
Over the past few years, rising oil consumption has strained the world's limited excess production capacity, putting energy traders on edge about any threat to supply.
Markets were unsettled by an array of concerns Friday, ranging from breakdowns in U.S. refineries in the past two weeks to ongoing worries that heating oil supplies will be tight in the fourth quarter.
The U.S. Energy Department report this week showing declines in gasoline inventories exacerbated already heightened fears that overworked U.S. refiners may not quickly recover from shutdowns to bump up gasoline supplies.
"Looking at the overall refinery situation, I think people are still having jitters from all the recent destruction we've seen in the U.S.," said Jonathan Copus, energy analyst with Investec Securities in London.
At least seven refineries have reported problems of one kind or another, ranging from fires at Chevron Corp.'s El Segundo, Calif., and BP PLC's Texas City, Texas, refineries to the complete shutdown of Exxon Mobil's plant in Joliet, Ill.
The latest economic news out of the United States indicating that payrolls expanded by 207,000 in July, the highest reading in five months, also supported bullish sentiment.
Markets were concerned that a growing economy, supported by higher payroll figures, could filter through to oil demand growth.
Aging refineries in the United States are running near full capacity and this increases the likelihood of operational problems.
Crude prices would still have to surpass $90 to reach the inflation-adjusted high set in 1980.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Saturday, August 6, 2005
Analysts expect gasoline prices to go even higher.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Crude oil prices settled at a new high above $62 a barrel Friday, rallying late in the day on concerns about refinery snags and following the release of a positive U.S. jobs report.
Analysts said gasoline prices — now averaging $2.29 a gallon nationwide — are likely to head higher.
Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose 93 cents to close at $62.31 a barrel, a nominal record for crude since trading began on the New York Mercantile Exchange in 1983.
The previous settlement high was $61.89 a barrel set Tuesday.
Oil futures rose as high as $62.45 on Friday, a nickel shy of the intraday peak set earlier in the week.
"We'll break the all-time records next week" at the retail level, said Tom Kloza, director of Wall, N.J.-based Oil Price Information Service. The record high was $2.33 per gallon, established the week ending July 8.
Adjusting for inflation, retail gasoline prices peaked above $3 a gallon in 1981.
Kloza said retailers around the country are telling him that there are no signs of demand tapering off.
Increased demand
Over the past few years, rising oil consumption has strained the world's limited excess production capacity, putting energy traders on edge about any threat to supply.
Markets were unsettled by an array of concerns Friday, ranging from breakdowns in U.S. refineries in the past two weeks to ongoing worries that heating oil supplies will be tight in the fourth quarter.
The U.S. Energy Department report this week showing declines in gasoline inventories exacerbated already heightened fears that overworked U.S. refiners may not quickly recover from shutdowns to bump up gasoline supplies.
"Looking at the overall refinery situation, I think people are still having jitters from all the recent destruction we've seen in the U.S.," said Jonathan Copus, energy analyst with Investec Securities in London.
At least seven refineries have reported problems of one kind or another, ranging from fires at Chevron Corp.'s El Segundo, Calif., and BP PLC's Texas City, Texas, refineries to the complete shutdown of Exxon Mobil's plant in Joliet, Ill.
The latest economic news out of the United States indicating that payrolls expanded by 207,000 in July, the highest reading in five months, also supported bullish sentiment.
Markets were concerned that a growing economy, supported by higher payroll figures, could filter through to oil demand growth.
Aging refineries in the United States are running near full capacity and this increases the likelihood of operational problems.
Crude prices would still have to surpass $90 to reach the inflation-adjusted high set in 1980.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Saturday, August 6, 2005
now averaging $2.29 a gallon nationwide — are likely to head higher.
Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose...
