Better Fill up today

[frawin]

Yesterday"s Close:
Dec-09 Crude settled at $77.46, down $2.12 on the day, Dec-09 Natural Gas settled at $4.342, up $0.088 on the day.


Today:
Jan-10 crude is trading at $77.00, down $1.05, Dec-09 Natural Gas is trading at $4.275, down $0.065.

[frawin]

Jan-10 Crude settled at $77.47, down $0.58 on the day, Dec-09 Natural Gas settled at $4.424, up $0.082 on the day.

Our Neighborhood pump price is $2.37, we drove from Bartlesville to Fredonia today and the highest price we saw was $2.69

[larryJ]

SoCal is at $2.95 as of today.

Larryj

[frawin]

Jan-10 crude is trading at $78.375, up $0.90, Dec-09 Natural Gas is trading at $4.495, up $0.07

Our area pump price ranges from $2.31 to $2.35 this morning.

[frawin]

Crude Oil Rises on Iranian Military Test, Weaker U.S. Dollar



By Grant Smith and Gavin Evans

Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose from a one-week low after an Iranian military exercise renewed concerns over Middle Eastern supply, while the weaker dollar heightened oil's appeal as an inflation hedge.

Iran is testing an air defense system this week, in the largest military exercises the country has conducted to assess the vulnerability of its nuclear plants. The most accurate dollar forecasters predict the world's reserve currency will continue sliding even when the Federal Reserve begins to raise interest rates.

"The Iranian test is supportive psychologically," said Eugen Weinberg, senior analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. "The market will only focus on positive news for as long as the dollar is weak, the Fed is generous with liquidity and the wall of money keeps pouring into commodities."

Crude oil for January delivery rose as much as $1.05, or 1.4 percent, to $78.52 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $78.42 at 9:53 a.m. London time.

The December contract expired on Nov. 20 down 74 cents, or 1 percent, to $76.72 a barrel. Oil traded between $74.79 and $82 the past five weeks after surging in early October.

The January contract slipped 58 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $77.47 on Nov. 20, its lowest settlement in a week. Gains by the dollar and declining equity prices eroded investor confidence in the outlook for commodity demand and trimmed the contract's gain to 44 cents for the week.

Investment Inflows

"We are seeing the oil price higher today and a lot of that has to do with the fact the U.S. dollar is a bit softer," said David Moore, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. "You get investment inflows into commodities as a hedge against dollar weakness."

Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, is under three sets of United Nations Security Council sanctions, the first imposed in December 2006, for its refusal to halt uranium enrichment for its nuclear program.

The U.S. and its European allies suspect Iran of using the program to develop atomic weapons. The government in Tehran says the technology is for domestic power generation.

The U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of the currency against its six major counterparts, dropped 0.8 percent today to 75.08 after posting its first weekly advance this month.

Standard Chartered Plc, Aletti Gestielle SGR, HSBC Holdings Plc and Scotia Capital Inc. say the dollar will depreciate as much as 7.1 percent versus the euro.

Hedge-fund managers and other large speculators decreased their bets on rising oil prices for a third week, according to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data.

Speculative net-long positions, the difference between orders to buy and sell the commodity, fell 1.9 percent to 86,348 contracts in the week ended Nov. 17, the Washington-based commission reported last week.

Brent crude oil for January settlement rose as much as $1.12, or 1.5 percent, to $78.32 a barrel on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. It was at 78.26 a barrel at 9:53 a.m. London time. It fell 0.6 percent to $77.20 on Nov. 20.

[frawin]

Jan-10 Crude settled at $77.56, up $0.09 on the day, Dec-09 Natural Gas settled at $4.473, up $0.049 on the day.

[frawin]

Jan-10 crude is trading at $77.025, down $0.525, Jan-10 Natural Gas is trading at $4.81, up $0.02.

[frawin]

Oil Little Changed Before Report Forecast to Show Supply Gain



By Grant Smith and Ann Koh

Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil traded little changed around $77 a barrel before a report forecast to show that higher-than-normal crude inventories grew last week in the U.S.

The U.S. Energy Department will probably report tomorrow that stockpiles grew by 1.5 million barrels in the week ended Nov. 20, according to a Bloomberg survey. Analysts were split over the change in supplies of distillate fuels such as heating oil and diesel, which are 28 percent above the seasonal average.

R20;At least until the end of the year we see $80 as the top of the range," said Tobias Merath, a commodity analyst at Credit Suisse Group in Zurich. "What's limiting the potential in the short term is the supply glut in the distillate market."

Crude oil for January delivery traded for $77.18 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, 38 cents lower, as of 9:51 a.m. London time. Oil, which rose as high as $79.92 yesterday, has failed to close above $80 since Nov. 4. Futures have gained 73 percent this year.

Oil was capped by strengthening in the U.S. dollar, which often limits the appeal of commodities for hedging inflation. The dollar traded at $1.4927 per euro at 9:13 a.m. in London, from $1.4961 yesterday in New York.

R20;The floor has been set by the weaker dollar, higher inflation theme, while the ceiling has been set by weak refining margins, and a global recovery that is expected to be sluggish," said Mike Wittner, head of oil market research at Societe Generale SA in London.

Commercially held crude stockpiles in the U.S. climbed 1.5 million barrels in the week ended Nov. 20, from 336.8 million in the prior week, according to the median of 13 estimates from analysts polled. Eleven respondents forecast a gain and two said there would be a decline.

Distillate Supplies

Analysts were split over whether U.S. distillate supplies, a category that includes heating oil and diesel, rose or fell last week. Stockpiles probably dropped 100,000 barrels from 167.4 million the prior week, according to the survey. Seven respondents forecast a decline and six said supplies increased.

Gasoline inventories probably climbed 300,000 barrels from 209.1 million the week before, the survey showed. Refineries operated at 79.7 percent of capacity, up 0.3 percentage point from the previous week, according to the median of responses.

Oil declined for the third time in four days as the dollar strengthened against the euro, prompting traders to close trading positions before the long U.S. holiday weekend. The Energy Department report tomorrow may show the country's crude oil stockpiles had risen, possibly reaching a four-week high, bolstering concern fuel demand may have yet to recover.

R20;In coming months, oil products are expected to be drawn down as the U.S. winter starts up," said Ben Westmore, an energy and minerals economist at National Australia Bank Ltd. in Melbourne. "The market's already factored in a drawdown in prices, and now we're waiting to see if it happens."

Brent crude oil for January delivery on LondonR17;s ICE Futures Europe exchange fell as much as 49 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $76.97 a barrel. The contract was at $77.34 a barrel at 9:53 a.m. London time.

[frawin]

Jan-10 Crude settled at $76.02, down $1.54 on the day, Jan-10 Natural Gas settled at $4.766, down $0.025 on the day.

[frawin]

Jan-10 crude is trading at $76.20, up $0.175, Jan-10 Natural Gas is trading at $4.80, up $0.035.
Walmart pump price was $2.31 last night.