Gas prices rise, energy futures mixed
Sunday, 15 July 2007
NEW YORK, July 14 (AP): Gasoline prices extended their advance at the pump Friday, while gas futures fell again on a growing sense that supplies are catching up to demand.
Oil futures, meanwhile, jumped more than $1 to new 11-month highs on concerns about supply disruptions in the North Sea and growing global demand. Crude futures briefly touched $74 before easing a bit.
The national average price of a gallon of gas rose 2 cents overnight, to $3.046 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Retail prices, which typically lag the futures markets, have risen steadily since bottoming out at $2.949 a gallon last week. Prices peaked at $3.227 a gallon in late May.
Analysts attribute much of the recent increase to price spikes in the Midwest and Plains states caused by the closure of a 108,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Coffeyville, Kan., due to flooding, and of a 250,000 barrel-per-day piece of equipment in Whiting, Ind., due to a leak.
BP PLC's Whiting refinery is expected to be back at full production by next week, while officials in Coffeyville are still assessing damage.
Strong consumer demand is also playing a role, analysts say. In a report this week, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said demand for gas grew last week, to 9.6 million barrels a day, or 1.4 per cent higher than the same period last year. But gasoline inventories jumped by 1.2 million barrels, almost double analyst predictions of a 640,000-barrel increase.
In futures trading, light, sweet crude for August delivery advanced $1.43 to settle at $73.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after rising as high as $74 earlier. The last time a front-month contract traded or closed over $74 was Aug. 11.
August Brent gained $1.17 to settle at $77.57 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.
Oil futures, meanwhile, jumped more than $1 to new 11-month highs on concerns about supply disruptions in the North Sea and growing global demand. Crude futures briefly touched $74 before easing a bit.
The national average price of a gallon of gas rose 2 cents overnight, to $3.046 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Retail prices, which typically lag the futures markets, have risen steadily since bottoming out at $2.949 a gallon last week. Prices peaked at $3.227 a gallon in late May.
Analysts attribute much of the recent increase to price spikes in the Midwest and Plains states caused by the closure of a 108,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Coffeyville, Kan., due to flooding, and of a 250,000 barrel-per-day piece of equipment in Whiting, Ind., due to a leak.
BP PLC's Whiting refinery is expected to be back at full production by next week, while officials in Coffeyville are still assessing damage.
Strong consumer demand is also playing a role, analysts say. In a report this week, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said demand for gas grew last week, to 9.6 million barrels a day, or 1.4 per cent higher than the same period last year. But gasoline inventories jumped by 1.2 million barrels, almost double analyst predictions of a 640,000-barrel increase.
In futures trading, light, sweet crude for August delivery advanced $1.43 to settle at $73.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after rising as high as $74 earlier. The last time a front-month contract traded or closed over $74 was Aug. 11.
August Brent gained $1.17 to settle at $77.57 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.