To print article, click Print on your browser's File menu. Go back Posted 6/29/2004 Get market news by e-mail See if refinancing works Personal finance bookshelf Letters from MSN Money readers Find It! Article Index Fast Answers Tools Index Site map		Extra Oil at 2-month low; gas down 23% Improved hopes for steadier exports out of Iraq take U.S. crude down to $36, well off its $42 high. Pump and futures prices for gasoline continue to drop as well. By Toby Reynolds, Reuters Oil prices dropped to their lowest level in more than two months on Tuesday as the handover of power to Iraq's interim government raised hopes for less sabotage and steadier exports, reinforcing indications of healthier world supply. U.S. light crude lost 23 cents to $36.01 a barrel, after bouncing off an intra-day low of $35.65, the lowest price seen since April 21. The contract fell $1.31 on Monday, the day the United States surprised the world by ceding control two days early in Iraq. U.S. light crude has lost more than $6 per barrel from a record high of $42.45 reached June 2, as increased OPEC production helps rebuild U.S. inventories and encourages speculators to bail out of the market. Start investing with $100. Explore our new ETF center. Gasoline futures fall; so do pump prices Monday's earlier-than-expected handover of Iraqi sovereignty strengthened selling. Traders had feared renewed attacks on Iraqi oil facilities ahead of the planned June 30 transfer of power. The oil crunch -- full coverage on MSN • A long, hot summer at the gas pump • Find the cheapest pump in town • 14 ways to deal with $2-a-gallon gas • What is summer-blend gasoline? • Worlds first fuel-stingy SUV • Opinion: 3 reasons gas should be cheaper "The early handover is reducing fears of terrorist disruptions to oil supplies -- fears that had added at least several dollars to prices,'' said David Thurtell, commodity strategist with Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Monday's crude losses were led by gasoline futures, which dropped about 5% to $1.1448 a gallon. A 23% fall in U.S. gasoline futures prices since mid-May has helped pull crude down from the $40 level as fears for summer supply shortages diminish. The weighted national average price for all three grades of gasoline at the pump fell 6.6 cents to $1.98 per gallon Friday after rising more than 59 cents between mid-December and June, said analyst Trilby Lundberg, who publishes a biweekly survey of 8,000 gas stations across the United States. The biggest selling gas, self-serve regular, averaged $1.94 a gallon. Not out of the woods "The fact that fundamentals are softening and prices heading down comes as no surprise,'' said analysts at PFC Energy. Chinese efforts to slow economic growth, reduced fears over the security of Middle Eastern supplies, and higher OPEC output, were driving the price downturn, PFC said. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed earlier in June, when New York futures prices were at record highs, to raise its formal output limits by 2 million barrels a day from July 1. It also agreed to lift curbs by another 500,000 barrels from August 1. Prices could quickly go back up again in the event of a major attack on oil facilities, analysts said. "If the situation in Iraq does worsen substantially, exports could be curtailed far more than has occurred to date and prices could spike over $40 again,'' the PFC Energy report said. The latest weekly inventory snapshot from the U.S. government was expected to show tighter gasoline supplies, but a build on crude. A Reuters poll of seven analysts, ahead of the release of the Energy Information Administration data on Wednesday, forecast an average drop of 800,000 barrels in gasoline stocks in the week to June 25. Commercial crude stocks were expected to show a 2 million-barrel build, which would extend an uptrend to 18 of the past 22 weeks.  How does what you pay compare? State Regular Mid Premium Diesel | State Regular Mid Premium Diesel Alaska $2.10 $2.23 $2.35 $1.96 | Montana $1.98 $2.06 $2.16 $1.87 Alabama $1.80 $1.93 $1.99 $1.67 | North Carolina $1.85 $1.97 $2.05 $1.69 Arkansas $1.81 $1.91 $2.03 $1.69 | North Dakota $1.88 $1.94 $2.01 $1.74 Arizona $2.00 $2.09 $2.21 $1.99 | Nebraska $1.86 $1.90 $1.95 $1.74 California $2.27 $2.41 $2.45 $2.18 | New Hampshire $1.97 $2.13 $2.21 $1.78 Colorado $1.92 $2.05 $2.14 $1.89 | New Jersey $1.96 $2.10 $2.18 $1.70 Connecticut $2.09 $2.27 $2.33 $1.88 | New Mexico $1.87 $1.99 $2.08 $1.82 District of Columbia $2.05 $2.18 $2.25 $1.91 | Nevada $2.14 $2.25 $2.34 $2.01 Delaware $1.96 $2.08 $2.17 $1.80 | New York $2.14 $2.29 $2.34 $1.92 Florida $1.95 $2.11 $2.15 $1.80 | Ohio $1.79 $1.91 $1.98 $1.73 Georgia $1.76 $1.89 $1.97 $1.62 | Oklahoma $1.73 $1.79 $1.89 $1.61 Hawaii $2.32 $2.46 $2.50 $2.43 | Oregon $2.12 $2.24 $2.27 $2.07 Iowa $1.79 $1.89 $1.98 $1.71 | Pennsylvania $1.89 $2.00 $2.08 $1.82 Idaho $2.00 $2.12 $2.17 $1.97 | Rhode Island $2.04 $2.17 $2.25 $1.86 Illinois $1.91 $2.05 $2.12 $1.82 | South Carolina $1.79 $1.91 $2.00 $1.63 Indiana $1.81 $1.94 $2.00 $1.69 | South Dakota $1.84 $1.96 $2.04 $1.75 Kansas $1.81 $1.86 $1.93 $1.76 | Tennessee $1.82 $1.92 $2.01 $1.67 Kentucky $1.78 $1.91 $1.99 $1.63 | Texas $1.80 $1.90 $1.97 $1.68 Louisiana $1.83 $1.95 $2.04 $1.66 | Utah $1.93 $2.04 $2.13 $1.90 Massachusetts $2.01 $2.17 $2.25 $1.84 | Virginia $1.83 $1.92 $1.99 $1.69 Maryland $1.94 $2.07 $2.12 $1.78 | Vermont $1.99 $2.14 $2.23 $1.86 Maine $1.95 $2.10 $2.16 $1.82 | Washington $2.12 $2.20 $2.30 $2.12 Michigan $1.88 $1.99 $2.07 $1.73 | Wisconsin $1.93 $2.01 $2.10 $1.77 Minnesota $1.79 $1.87 $1.91 $1.71 | West Virginia $1.90 $1.99 $2.09 $1.78 Missouri $1.74 $1.81 $1.91 $1.62 | Wyoming $1.88 $1.96 $2.09 $1.81 Mississippi $1.82 $1.92 $2.00 $1.62 | U.S. average $1.91 $2.03 $2.10 $1.77 Prices as of June 29, 2004 Source: AAA Fuel Gauge Report More Resources ·  E-mail us your comments on this article ·  Post on the Your Money message board ·  Get a daily dose of market news Search MSN Money     tips   advertisement Sponsored Links
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