Oil Prices

NEW YORK -- Gold prices tumbled $7.80, to $369.40 an ounce, as the decline in oil prices cooled fears that inflation was about to stage a return."What you are seeing today is the reaction to the drop in oil prices," said Marc Cohen, an analyst with Kidder Peabody in New York.Gold prices tend to drop when prospects of inflation diminish because investors buy gold as a hedge against inflation, which threatens the value of other assets.Yesterday's drop after two weeks in which gold prices hardly changed does not mean an expected rally in gold prices will not materialize, traders said.

WASHINGTON -- Moments after the U.S. attack on Iraq and Kuwait flashed on television reports, oil prices soared rapidly last night, rising $8 a barrel, to $40, in cash trading in the oil states of Texas and Louisiana before settling back to $37.In an early sign that steep increases in oil prices worldwide are likely when markets open today, oil prices for March delivery opened sharply higher in Tokyo this morning, rising to $33.75, an increase of $3.46 from...

Oil prices jumped yesterday after the first flames leaped from Kuwaiti oil fields. They rose more later when an Iraqi missile exploded in Israel.On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for February delivery rose about $2 a barrel in the morning after reports that Iraq was blowing up oil wells and storage tanks in occupied Kuwait.The contract climbed further in the afternoon on initial reports that an Iraqi Scud missile had injured many civilians in Tel Aviv, closing at $24.18 a barrel, up $2.88.

Gasoline and heating oil prices may increase late this month because of a new federal law that requires tankers to carry 10 times the liability insurance they have taken in the past to cover accidents and spills.No one expects the change to cause lines at the gasoline pumps, but some experts predict that tight supplies could raise the price of gasoline and heating oil by at least a few cents a gallon. The Northeast is particularly vulnerable, because of its heavy dependence on oil for heating in the winter.

Crude oil prices this month crossed the $30-a-barrel mark for the first time since the eve of the Persian Gulf war. Prices have increased 166 percent since bottoming out at $11.37 per barrel last February, driven by production cuts OPEC instituted in the spring to buoy low prices, by unseasonably high demand and by the slashing of oil exports from Iraq. The national average gasoline price also soared to more than $1.41 per gallon as of Feb. 18. Pressure is mounting for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to raise production quotas at its meeting March 27 in Vienna, Austria.

OIL PRICES continued their slide last week, tumbling to their lowest level in a dozen years on growing worries about oversupply as oil producers slashed prices to try to win customers. The situation was exacerbated by word that Iraq had agreed to a work schedule for clearing up outstanding disarmament issues. If it adheres to the timetable, it could resume oil exports as soon as October. Will oil prices continue falling? How much of an impact would Iraq's re-entry into the export market have?

NEW YORK -- Oil prices neared five-year lows yesterday as demand for heating oil fades and concerns about a supply glut returns to haunt oil markets.On other commodity markets, metals prices soared as the U.S. dollar tumbled against the yen after a breakdown of trade talks between the United States and Japan.Above-normal temperatures are forecast for the eastern United States by Friday, ending a cold spell that has sent consumer demand for home heating oil soaring to its highest level ever.

Clem Miller's customers mostly shake their heads in disbelief. "You get shock from customers," said Miller, vice president of Canton Oil Co. "They don't believe prices are so high." Miller has been getting that reaction from residents in Canton, Highlandtown and Dundalk, where his company delivers home heating oil to about 1,000 customers. With oil prices rising, Miller's company has been forced to raise prices when he has to pay more at wholesale. Typically, he adds 20 cents to his wholesale price, so oil he buys at $1.30 per gallon sells for $1.50 per gallon.

Right now, energy consumers can only envy the mythical Greek King Sisyphus. He was condemned by the gods to spend his life pushing a boulder up a hill, only to see it roll back down again. Motorists and other fuel users seem condemned to push uphill forever, with never a downward respite. In the past year, world crude oil prices have risen like a bottle rocket. In the last year, they have doubled. Since February, they have gone from less than $90 a barrel to $135 a barrel - a level that was almost unimaginable at one time (like three months ago)

NEW YORK -- Stocks soared yesterday, with the Dow Jones industrials gaining 128 points as a sharp drop in crude oil prices and a reassuring assessment of the economy helped investors overcome their disappointment over Intel Corp.'s earnings and troubling sales forecasts. "There are some signs on the wall here that we may have hit the bottom of this market, and we could be ready to move up," said Chris Johnson, manager of quantitative analysis at Schaeffer's Investment Research in Cincinnati.