I was elated to see predictions come true elsewhere over the weekend that gas prices are expected to drop 50 cents a gallon over the summer. Unfortunately, that’s not the case here yet. Gas continues to rise. Today, Monday, May 9, we’re at $4.06 per gallon of unleaded, up 2 cents from a week ago, according to the AAA. Rachel Pritchett, 475-3783
Here’s where oil prices were heading early Monday.
NEW YORK (AP) — Investors pushed oil back up over $100 a barrel
Monday, reversing some of last week’s plunge.
Oil’s 15 percent drop last week was its steepest in two and a half
years. Now, investors who believe oil fell too far, too fast are
sensing a bargain.
“Nothing fundamental happened between Friday and Monday to justify
a $3 jump,” said Stephen Schork, publisher of the energy industry
newsletter The Schork Report. “This just shows the power of
speculators in this market.”
In midday trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, benchmark
crude for June delivery was up $3.85, or 4 percent, to $101.02 a
barrel.
Over the long term analysts expect oil and other commodities to get
more expensive as the recovering U.S. economy and the growing
economies of Asia increase demand for energy and raw materials.
“The fundamental backdrop in the market remains entirely unaltered,
with global oil demand still showing continued strength,” Barclays
Capital said in a report. “The general (oil price) trend from here
should be higher, rather than lower.”
Monday’s jump in oil prices, though, may be what analysts refer to
as a “dead cat bounce.” That’s a temporary rise in price that
interrupts a generally downward trend.
Last week oil and other commodities fell dramatically because of a
major shift in the outlook for the U.S. dollar and other foreign
currencies, especially the euro.
