Oil prices up again on economic hopes, lower stocks, supply concerns
NEW YORK — Oil prices rose for the fourth day in a row Thursday amid signs of an improving U.S. economy and concerns about global supplies.
The price of benchmark crude rose 86 cents to finish at $99.53 per barrel in New York. At one point in the session it hit $100.05. Brent crude, which is used to price crude produced in many foreign countries and is important for U.S. gasoline producers, rose 18 cents to end at $107.89 per barrel in London.
A series of positive reports in the U.S. suggested that the economy is slowly improving. That has sent stock prices and oil prices higher this week.
Investors got a double-barrel of encouraging news Thursday, as the Labor Department said unemployment claims last week dropped to the lowest level in more than three and a half years, and a private report said leading economic indicators pointed to a strengthening economy.
On Tuesday, a report showed housing construction was picking up in the U.S. And on Wednesday, the Energy Information Administration reported a dramatic drop in the nation’s oil supplies last week.
Gasoline demand was down 2.6 percent from last year through the first nine months of the year, according to government data. Drivers cut back amid high pump prices and worries about the economy.
“That’s an astonishing amount,” said Andrew Lipow, an independent oil analyst. He expects gasoline demand to fall slightly next year, though the decline won’t be as great if the economy improves.
Demand for oil and gas grows with the economy as shippers move more goods and consumers drive and fly more.
Oil prices are also being pushed higher by threats to global supplies. Rising tensions between the West and Iran over Iran’s nuclear ambitions are raising fears that oil from the world’s fourth biggest producer may be kept from reaching markets in the coming weeks.
Oil traders also are concerned about political instability in Kazakhstan, which exports about 1.3 million barrels of oil per day, about 1.5 percent of world demand. The Central Asian nation has been battling political protests that have resulted in more than a dozen deaths in the last month.
Gas Demand And Supply - News
On Tuesday, a report showed housing construction was picking up in the US And on Wednesday, the Energy Information Administration reported a dramatic drop in the nation's oil supplies last week. Gasoline demand was down 2.6 percent from last year
But the scale of demand has yet to approach the available supplies, and producers want a more active federal policy that encourages the wider use of natural gas. "We've got a supply of natural gas. We need an energy policy that reflects that," said
Noting that January and February 2011 "were shockingly cold," Saunders said, demand for gas for home-heating over the next 10 weeks is likely to rise to the 2011 level "and we're flowing more gas on top of that." US government forecasts for Dec.
UK gas supplies improved as imports from Norway through the Langeled pipeline rose following problems earlier in the week. At 264.7 million cubic metres a day (mcm), British gas demand was around 21 percent below the seasonal norms and the system was 5
Country has been facing severe shortage of gas since last many years, while no concrete steps would be taken yet by the energy managers to maintain the gap between demand and supply of natural gas estimated more than 1.7 billion cubic feet (BCFD).
RT @: More oil on the world market will decrease oil and gas prices. It is call supply and demand. Build the pipeline, Mr President.
RT @: More oil on the world market will decrease oil and gas prices. It is call supply and demand. Build the pipeline, Mr President.
RT @: More oil on the world market will decrease oil and gas prices. It is call supply and demand. Build the pipeline, Mr President.
Gas: Gas markets continue to be swamped by a flood of supply: Storage, storage everywhere, and not enough demand... 
Gas: Gas markets continue to be swamped by a flood of supply: Storage, storage everywhere, and not enough demand...