Gasoline futures surge to record high

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Gasoline futures surge to record high
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/765c4bae-1a0b- ... 511c8.html
US gasoline futures surged to a record high on Wednesday after the Department of Energy reported a 500,000 barrel drop in gasoline inventories to 194.4m barrels as stocks fell for a ninth week in succession.


The September Nymex gasoline contract rose 17.2 per cent to $2.90, its highest level since opening in 1984.

“US gasoline prices are now in the process of the most dramatic spike ever seen,” said Kevin Norrish, analyst at Barclays Capital.

The inventory data covered the week to August 26 and does not reflect the impact of Hurricane Katrina. Although the US government attempted to calm the market by saying it would tap the strategic petroleum reserve, this move was seen as largely ineffective after the disruption to refining capacity caused by Katrina.

Traders fear gasoline prices could spike higher, as Katrina has left nine refineries idle and four operating at reduced rates. Analysts said reduced refinery output would present a major problem, with estimates of losses of between 20m and 40m barrels of refinery throughput.

Crude oil prices continued to trade close to record highs after a larger than expected decline in crude inventories of 1.5m barrels to 321.4m.

The October West Texas Intermediate contract traded at $68.94 a barrel, a loss of 87 cents, but IPE Brent for October delivery moved 55 cents lower to $67.02.

US heating oil prices also pushed to a new record high, with September Nymex heating oil futures trading at $2.0749 a gallon from the previous record of $2.06 set on Tuesday. US natural gas prices moved higher, with October Nymex henry hub up 3.6 per cent to $12.08 per million British thermal units from $11.659 on Tuesday.

Coffee prices are expected to rise amid fears that 8 per cent of global coffee supply could be disrupted. In London, the November robusta coffee contract hit $1,005 per tonne before settling 2.4 per cent up at $975 per tonne.

Traders also remained concerned about disruption to US soft commodity production by Katrina. The December cotton futures price eased 9 cents to $50.19/lb after reaching a 3-week high on Tuesday.

Gold prices rose to $434.20/$434.50 a troy ounce in London, helped by Japanese buying, from $429.80/$431.60. Traders said the key issue was whether gold would hold above the support level of $430 if funds continue to liquidate long positions.

Goldman Sachs upwardly revised its forecast for copper prices next year, with the benchmark three month copper price expected to average $2,785 per tonne in 2006, almost a 15 per cent increase on its previous forecast of $2,425 per tonne.

In London, the benchmark three-month copper price traded $10 lower at $3,637 per tonne.

OK, I really want to know something: how much are you folks who are not in the U.S. paying for gasoline?

I think we have it relatively easy and cheap right now, and I am gettign damend sick of hearing people whine about it!

Heh! I every freakin right to whine, I commute a half hour to school and work each day, sometimes twice in one day. With gas prices that be soaring up to 4.00 a gallon by the end of the month it could possibly cost me up to $50 to fill up a four cylinder engine.

Do you drive chmoiasse?

Yes, I do drive, and I'm glad to say that I have a relatively efficient car. All the same, I spent over $35 yesterday and still didn't fill up the tank.

However, the word I had is that in Norway, a decade ago, they were paying about $6.00 a gallon. That's why I'd really love to hear from some people in other countries regarding what gas costs are like outside the U.S.

Yesterday it was $2.77 here, and today it is $2.85. Glad I bought it yesterday!!

I don't know a lot about these things, and I don't pretend to. But the way I look at it is that our gas and oil prices have been maintained at artificially low prices for a very long time, and now reality is beginning to level things out a bit.

All I can say is without much thought...

They're raising the prices because THEY CAN.

And..

Consumers are letting them.

Other than that where I am, I saw $3.15 for reg. unleaded at a Shell station.

That was a couple days ago, so the price may and probably has gone up.

I read on the BBC web that it was about 90 pence a liter average in the UK. That was a month ago though. So the UK avg. would be higher than the US average then in terms of gallons. Wouldn't it? Assuming the same rate a month ago and if a gallon is 3.78 liters, a gallon would be £3.40 in UK which would then be over 6 dollars a gallon in the US.

But I am sure that different areas prob. charge more.

In Brisbane (which I think has the cheapest fuel prices on Australia's east coast, if not the whole country), it's $1.20 a Litre. The equivalent fuel price is $4.55 per gallon. So Australia is a little worse off than California, at the moment.

I'm very lucky I get 15 km to the litre in my little Excel. But if you want fuel efficiency tips, make sure your tire pressure is optimal for the car. It apparently saves a good amount of fuel, and of course reduces wear, and improves handling. But it will improve your fuel efficiency too.

And another little thing that I do, is if I see a cheap price (even just a few cents) I will fill up. I don't care if I've only done 50 kilometres since my last fill-up, I'll take advantage of the price.

When I was in Paris in April I took a photo of one of their gas signs. They were paying 1.32 Euros per litre, which works out to about US$6.35 per US Gallon.
I think they would certainly agree that we're a bunch of whiners.

Residents of the town of Champagne would be the greatest whiners, methinks...