Oil Prices Briefly Spiked to Record
More Than $147 a Barrel

Al Jazeera (Doha) 12jul2008

August delivery for light and sweet crude oil hit the high of $147.27 in New York on Friday before settling at $145.08, up $3.43 a barrel, at the end of trading.

In London, crude oil settled at $144.49, up $2.46.

Traders blamed the price rise on political tensions in the Middle East and lingering worries over stretched crude supplies.

The continuing decline of the US dollar and concerns about an oil worker strike in Brazil also contributed the increase.

Brazilian oil workers on more than 40 offshore platforms are threatening to go on strike next week unless Petrobras, a state-run oil firm, gives them an extra day off at the end of each 14-day stint.

Marcos Breda, a union spokesman, said that workers wanted the time needed to get off platforms after the two-week shift to be considered as a working day, for which they should be compensated with a day off.

Rebound

Crude had fallen by nearly $10 a barrel over two days at the beginning of the week, but rebounded by more than $5 a barrel on Thursday as anxiety heightened about supplies being disrupted in key producers.

Oil prices have risen seven-fold since 2002 amid surging demand from China and other emerging markets, and jumped 50 per cent this year alone, damaging the economies of consumer nation's already hit hard by the global credit crisis.

The resurgence in crude prices at the end of the week increased concerns that US drivers could see $1.05 a litre petrol prices become permanent and home heating could be much more expensive this winter.

Heating oil futures rose to a trading record of $4.1586 before settling at $4.0766 a gallon, up 3.92 cents.

Petrol futures also rose to a new trading record of $3.631 a gallon before finishing at $3.5632, up 5.23 cents.

"If you think your gasoline bills are expensive now, wait till you get your home heating bill this winter," Stephen Schork, an analyst and trader in Villanova, Pennsylvania, said.

source: 12jul2008

Oil Jumped as High as $147.27 a Barrel:
Gasoline Rose to Record

Chicago Tribune 12jul2008

Crude oil and gasoline climbed to records on growing concern about violence in the Middle East and supply disruptions from Brazil to Nigeria.

Oil jumped as high as $147.27 a barrel in New York after the Jerusalem Post said Israeli warplanes practiced over Iraq, although Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev denied the report. A Brazilian oil workers union is planning a five-day strike.

Prices have jumped more than $10 a barrel since Wednesday.

"The Iran premium has come into the market over the last two days," said Adam Sieminski, Deutsche Bank's chief energy economist. "Nothing has changed except the perception about whether there will be a deal between the U.S. and Iran. The possibility of a conflict is of tremendous concern to the market."

About 40 percent of the world's tanker traffic passes through the Strait of Hormuz, raising fears that conflict in the Middle East could choke off some supply.

"The war of words is quite heated," said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research Inc. "And it raises the possibility of some serious problems in the area—either the cutoff of Iranian exports or Iranian strikes on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz."

Crude oil for August delivery rose $3.43, to $145.08 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures, which fell 21 cents for the week, have doubled over the past year.

Gasoline for August delivery rose 5.23 cents, or 1.5 percent, to settle at $3.5632 a gallon in New York. Futures reached $3.631 a gallon Friday, an all-time high.

At the pump, the national average for regular gasoline fell 0.8 cents, to $4.096 a gallon, AAA said. Pump prices reached a record $4.108 a gallon on Monday.

source: 12jul2008