NEW YORK ? Oil rebounded Wednesday from 12-month lows on signs that financial leaders will move to bolster struggling European banks.
Benchmark crude jumped $2.93, or 3.8 percent, to $78.59 per barrel in New York, while Brent crude rose $2.33, or 2.3 percent to $102.12 in London.
Prices earlier in the week dropped to the lowest level since September 2010 as Europe's financial crisis festered. Greece warned that it would run out of money in November, and a future bailout was in doubt since it failed to meet spending targets.
The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday said it could pump money into distressed bond markets to keep Greece's banking problems from spreading. Economists and investors have kept a wary eye on Europe as several countries wrestle with debt problems. Massive spending cuts throughout the eurozone will depress energy demand in the region, and experts are concerned that if Greece fails to pay its bills, it will spark a financial meltdown similar to the U.S. banking crisis of 2008.
"Nobody knows whether Europe is on the cusp of a (meltdown) or something that's much more minor," said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service.
The Energy Department reported Wednesday that oil and gasoline supplies dropped unexpectedly last week. Supplies shrank mostly on the Gulf Coast, as refineries cut back on crude imports.
A private research firm also said hotels, restaurants and other parts of the service industry expanded at a slightly slower pace in September than the previous month. The Institute for Supply Management index suggested that the economy continues to grow, but at a slower pace.
At the pump, gasoline prices lost nearly a penny for a new national average of $3.3989 per gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. The national average has dropped almost every day for a month, and analysts say it could fall as low as $3.25 per gallon this winter.
Drivers are expected to pay more on average this year than ever before. The average price per gallon is $3.56 so far this year, up from a 2010 average of $2.78.
In other energy commodities trading, heating oil rose 3.34 cents to $2.7568 per gallon and gasoline futures rose 5.38 cents to $2.5460 per gallon. Natural gas lost 3.2 cents to $3.6060 per 1,000 cubic feet.
mw3 mw3 get well soon get well soon packaging packaging waterloo
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.