Petroleum Futures Surge
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Petroleum futures prices surged strongly upward Friday, despite settlement of a three-week refinery strike in Norway that has kept 900,000 barrels of oil a day out of production.
Gasoline futures were the psychological leader at the New York Mercantile Exchange, where the contract for delivery in May soared by nearly 2 1/2 cents a gallon, settling at 53.99 cents. For the week, nearly 10 cents was added to the price of leaded gasoline futures.
“The strength in the gas market outweighed the potential problems later on” when the oil from Norway comes back on the market, said John Hill, an analyst in New York with Merrill Lynch Commodities.
The market has a surplus estimated at 2 million to 2.5 million barrels a day even without Norway’s contribution.
The demand for gasoline is moving into high gear, analysts say, because it has become relatively cheap and because the weaker dollar and fear of terrorists overseas is expected to keep many Americans in this country for their vacations.
The energy futures market has simply rejected negative developments this week, said analyst Peter Beutel of Rudolf Wolff Energy in New York.
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