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Pastimes : The Justa & Lars Honors Bob Brinker Investment Club -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Justa Werkenstiff who wrote (14450)	6/14/2000 4:56:00 PM
From: Justa Werkenstiff	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 15132

Gasoline Rises to 10-Year High on Concern for Low Supplies New York, June 14 (Bloomberg) -- Gasoline futures rose to the highest price since the Persian Gulf War after a report showed supplies of cleaner-burning fuels, mandated for about one- third of the U.S. market, are 13 percent below levels a year ago. Inventories of reformulated gasoline, or RFG, fell 1.87 million barrels to 40.52 million last week, the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute reported late yesterday. Supplies were low as refiners struggled with tougher clean-air rules while motorists began the summer vacation season, when demand peaks. ``There's been a huge draw in RFG in the East,'' said Nauman Barakat, vice president of global energy trading at ABN Amro Inc. in New York. ``The market is reading that the problem we've seen in the Midwest is now going to develop on the East Coast.'' Gasoline for July delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 1.83 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $1.0805 a gallon. It was the highest closing price since August 1990, after Iraq invaded Kuwait. Gasoline rose as high as $1.096, the highest intra-day price since futures reached an all-time high of $1.11, also in August 1990. Futures represent wholesale prices. Prices retreated near the close of trading after Reuters reported that Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi and his Mexican counterpart, Luis Tellez, were engaged in private talks in the Netherlands. Mexico and Norway, two non-OPEC countries that often coordinate oil policy with the group, are ``agreed on the need to increase production,'' Mexico's Energy Ministry said yesterday in a statement after a meeting in Oslo between Tellez and Norwegian Energy Minister Olav Akselsen. Naimi and other members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are set to meet next Wednesday in Vienna to decide whether to raise oil production. Retail Gasoline Nationwide retail gasoline prices have been at record highs for the past three weeks, averaging more than $1.63 a gallon for self-serve regular for the week ended Monday, according to the U.S. Energy Department. The Midwest had the highest average pump price at $1.796 a gallon, though gasoline rose well over $2 at some filling stations in the Chicago and Milwaukee areas. While relief may be in sight in the Midwest, where RFG supplies rose 21 percent last week, stockpiles fell 11 percent on the East Coast. Supplies now are 17 percent lower than a year ago in that region, where RFG is mandated for much of the Northeast Corridor from Washington D.C. to Boston. `Much Too High' U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said today that prices of more than $2 a gallon ``are much too high'' and government officials are examining whether oil companies could be colluding. ``We're looking at whether it's market forces or collusion or glitches with EPA's reformulated gasoline program,'' Richardson told reporters in Washington. The Environmental Protection Agency and the DOE met with oil refiners including BP Amoco Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp. Monday to ask them why gasoline prices in the Midwest are higher than in the rest of the nation. Richardson said so far no one has been able to explain the disparity to the satisfaction of the government. Refiners have attributed the high gasoline prices to pipeline problems and shortages caused by the introduction of stricter standards for RFG in the nation's smoggiest cities on June 1. Senate Energy Committee Chairman Frank Murkowski of Alaska, speaking at an energy efficiency forum, used rising gasoline prices as an opportunity to criticize the Clinton administration's energy policy, saying it is helping to increase prices and could lead to economic problems for the nation. Domestic Production ``The price of natural gas is going up, the price of oil is up, the price of gasoline is increasing and the price of electricity is up,'' Murkowski said. ``What does that equal? Inflation.'' Murkowski criticized the Clinton administration for supporting policies that reduce domestic oil production, such as making certain U.S. lands off-limits to oil and gas exploration. Crude oil was pulled higher by surging gasoline prices. The July contract rose 29 cents to $32.85 a barrel on the Nymex. It was the highest closing price since March 7. Oil prices are 79 percent higher than a year ago. In London, Brent crude oil for July settlement fell 47 cents to $31.02 a barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange. Elsewhere on the Nymex, heating oil for July delivery rose 0.05 cent to 78.56 cents a gallon. Prices are up 74 percent from a year ago. Jun/14/2000 16:42 ET