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Microcap & Penny Stocks : OILEX (OLEX) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Marty Rubin who wrote (4185)	3/7/1999 10:43:00 PM
From: CHRISTINE	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4276

Rising cost of crude oil may signal the end of oversupply 03/07/99- Updated 06:14 PM ET By Beth Belton, USA TODAY Fill 'er up on cheap gas while you can. Gasoline prices, which hit 20-year lows last month, are starting to rise. By some estimates, prices could rise 25% over the next three months. Crude oil prices soared last week amid signs that the global energy glut may be starting to subside. Experts predict that oil prices could continue to rebound, which would lead to higher gasoline prices as the USA's spring and summer vacation driving seasons approach. The national retail price for unleaded gasoline increased to an average 91.3 cents a gallon the last week of February, ending five consecutive weeks of price declines, the Department of Energy said last week. Crude oil prices have surged 17% the past three weeks. Volatile trading is expected to continue, but the medium-term trend is probably higher, says David Bellman, analyst at Houston-based Purvin & Gertz Crude Oil and Refining Outlook newsletter. Friday, west Texas intermediate, a benchmark blend, dipped 5 cents to end the day at $13.30 after an exuberant week. Bellman says crude oil prices could average $15 a barrel next quarter vs. $12 a barrel so far this quarter. That's a 25% increase that could quickly show up at gasoline pumps, experts say. The bullish outlook was reflected in U.S. oil company stocks, which jumped Friday. Shares of Exxon, Texaco, Mobil and Conoco hit two-week highs. "The fundamentals are improving, that's for sure," says Antoine Halff, staffer at New York-based Petroleum Intelligence Weekly newsletter. Those fundamentals include: •Rising world demand as the U.S. economy chugs along and Asia shows signs of recovery. Latin America has so far avoided economic disaster. • Worldwide production falling faster than expected. The 11-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries continues to outproduce its 24.4 million-barrel-a-day quota, but not by much. OPEC meets March 23 to discuss the quota. U.S. supplies of crude oil have declined more rapidly than anticipated.