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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today issued a solicitation seeking to purchase heating oil for the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve (NEHHOR) using $3 million in appropriated funds. The Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve provides an important safety cushion for millions of Americans residing in the Northeast region of the country. Due to the modest volume of heating oil expected to be purchased with the available funds, no impact on market prices is expected. In 2007 a 35,000 barrel sale was conducted to raise funds necessary to award new long-term storage contracts to fill NEHHOR to its authorized capacity...

NEW YORK, June 6 (Reuters) - U.S. heating oil futures trading was halted briefly on the electronic trading platform CME Globex Friday after they struck the maximum fluctuation limit of 25 cents, a NYMEX spokeswoman said. "The trading on heating oil was halted at 1:13 p.m. EDT and resumed some three minutes or so later," said Anu Aluwahlia, the NYMEX spokeswoman. NYMEX trading on the floor was not affected, she said. Traders were confused and some said they did not even know that a trading halt had been imposed. Current rules on floor trading call for a trading halt for...

The news about oil prices is uniformly bad. New England residents, who consume 82 percent of the nation's home heating oil, will pay $3.10 per gallon or more this winter, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association. Maybe we'll get lucky and muddle through another mild winter. Maybe not. A decade ago, heating oil cost 20 percent that much. What happened? Governments in the oil-rich Middle East grew increasingly unstable, Venezuela became increasingly unfriendly, and developing nations such as India and China bumped up demand. Oh, and the U.S. government came up with one pretext after another for blocking...

250 GALLON TANK = $785 That's enough for about half an upstate New York Winter. Just 8-10 years ago it was 75 cents a gallon. You can do less driving, hard to do much less heating. This will hurt retail sales in the Northeast as discretionary income will be used more and more for high fuel costs.

Joe Kennedy Fires Back Letter to Florida Rep. Connie Mack Over Chavez Oil TV Ad Monday , February 12, 2007 FC1 ADVERTISEMENTClick here to find out more! WASHINGTON — Former Rep. Joe Kennedy fired off a letter Monday in response to a Florida congressman's calls for him to stop airing television commercials that heap praise on Venezuela for its providing discounted heating oil to low-income U.S. households. "If your moral indignation requires that we not accept the discount oil to distribute to our most vulnerable families, then that same high moral standard should require that you not drive your car...

Bowled Over Over the last three weeks, college football fans have been able to witness 32 different bowl games, culminating with the Bowl Championship Series Championship game in which the University of Florida defeated Ohio State University. With so many bowl games, it becomes a little difficult to analyze what they all mean. So, too, is it sometimes difficult to discern what the latest U.S. weekly petroleum data mean to the market, given the vast amount of data that are released each week. The data that receive most of the headlines when they are initially released are the changes in...

Hot Stove Season While baseball fans in the Northeast may no longer gather around hot wood-burning stoves to warm their hands while debating the merits of trades and signings in anticipation of spring training, many are turning up the thermostat in their oil-heated homes as the temperatures dip during the nightly broadcast of SportsCenter. The Northeast, which includes New England and the Central Atlantic regions, has traditionally been the main region using heating oil as a residential heating fuel. In 2004, 5.5 billion gallons of heating oil were sold to residential consumers in the Northeast; this comprises 82 percent of...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Those not lucky enough to head south for the winter can take take solace in at least one bit of news: Winter heating bills for many Americans to be a lot lower. Bills for homes heating primarily with natural gas are expected to be about $119, or 13 percent, less this winter, the Energy Information Administration said. Special Reportfull coverage Big drop seen in winter heating bills Oil creeps above $60 EIA eyes stable oil flow, mild winter Gas tumbles, but don't get used to it EIA, the government agency that tracks energy statistics off all...

SINGAPORE - Oil prices eased Thursday after U.S. government data showed motor fuel demand weakening, apparently in response to higher pump prices. The data also showed that domestic inventories of gasoline shrank for the eighth consecutive week, and that may have moderated the selling, analysts said. Light, sweet crude for June delivery fell 23 cents to $71.70 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract settled Wednesday at $71.93, down 95 cents. Brent crude for June delivery on London's ICE Futures changed hands at $72 a barrel, down 9 cents. Gasoline futures dropped 2.10...

LONDON (Reuters) - An influx of fresh fund buying and geopolitical worries will most likely push oil prices to new record highs soon, analysts said on Tuesday, while the most bullish predicted prices to eventually climb to $100 (57 pounds) a barrel.Supply concerns in Nigeria, Iran and other key oil-producing countries have ignited U.S. crude prices , up 13 percent this year and within $2 of the all-time record high of $70.85, reached in late August 2005 in the wake of hurricane damage in the United States. Analysts predicted the market to rally even further as high oil prices have...

SINGAPORE - Oil prices rose Monday on persistent supply fears tied to Iran's tense diplomatic standoff with the West over its nuclear ambitions and militant attacks in oil-rich Nigeria. Light, sweet crude for March delivery rose 53 cents to $68.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in Asian electronic trading. The contract on Friday rose $1.50 to settle at $67.76 a barrel. Heating oil rose 1.16 cents to $1.8185 a gallon while gasoline gained 2 cents to $1.7564 a gallon. March Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose 49 cents to $66.73 a barrel. Prices also rose...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil climbed further on Tuesday as a militant threat to Nigerian oil exports and Iran's standoff with the West over its nuclear ambitions kept the market worried about supply disruptions. London Brent crude for March was up 27 cents to $63.45 a barrel by 0329 GMT, after rising 58 cents on Monday. U.S. light crude for February jumped 86 cents to $64.78 in catch-up gains after being closed for a national holiday on Monday. U.S. crude earlier touched $64.95 a barrel, its highest since October 4. Crude flows from Nigeria, the world's eighth-largest oil exporter, are being...

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Crude oil futures fell Tuesday as unseasonably mild weather along the U.S. East Coast spurred hopes that this year's Northern Hemisphere winter could be warmer than expected, weakening demand for heating fuel. Light, sweet crude for January delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange lost 34 cents to US$57.02 a barrel in Asian electronic trading. The contract fell US$1.36 to settle at US$57.35 a barrel Monday. In London, January Brent fell 53 cents to US$54.35 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. In recent weeks, the market has been fixated on weather patterns in the northeastern U.S.,...

SINGAPORE - Oil futures fell nearly a dollar, dropping below $58 a barrel, as forecasters predicted warmer weather early this week in the U.S. Northeast, the world's largest heating oil market, easing fears of a spike in fuel demand. Light, sweet crude for January delivery slipped 86 cents to $57.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in electronic trading late afternoon in Singapore. In London, January Brent crude rose 29 cents to $55.30 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. "The market's reacting to forecasts that heating oil demand will be 20 percent below normal this week, giving...

One day after Venezuelan officials signed an agreement to provide 12 million gallons of discounted home heating oil to low-income Massachusetts residents, Baldacci administration officials confirmed that Maine is exploring a similar deal. Beth Nagusky, Gov. John Baldacci´s top aide on energy matters, said Wednesday that discussions are in a very early stage and declined to provide details. Nagusky said talks with Venezuela were part of Baldacci´s desire to "leave no stone unturned" in searching for ways to ensure Maine has enough fuel for the needy this winter. Venezuela, a key supplier of U.S. oil imports, produces a significant share...

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Oil dipped to a four-month low under $57 a barrel on Wednesday as dealers braced for a fresh increase in U.S. oil inventories amid unseasonally warm weather. U.S. crude fell as low as $56.82 a barrel in electronic trading, its weakest since July 21. It was trading down 2 cents at $56.96 a barrel by 0746 GMT, extending an 11-week slump that has wiped 20 percent or nearly $14 off prices. London Brent crude was down 3 cents at $55.15. Although some analysts continue to predict a turnaround once temperatures fall and if OPEC opts to cut...

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Crude oil futures drifted lower Tuesday as an International Energy Agency official said high pump prices have hurt fuel demand. Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell 6 cents to US$57.63 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract Monday rose 16 cents to settle at US$57.69. In London, December Brent crude fell 8 cents to US$54.65 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. High oil prices have started dampening global demand and the slowdown in consumption growth could in turn push prices lower, Noe Van Hulst, the International Energy Agency's...

SINGAPORE - Crude oil futures opened the week slightly higher, briefly rising above $58 a barrel, on predictions a cold snap was headed for the northeastern United States, the world's biggest winter heating fuel market. Light, sweet crude for December delivery rose as much as 57 cents to $58.10 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, before slipping to $57.78. The contract fell to $56.93 a barrel last week before closing at $57.53 Friday. December Brent crude on London's International Petroleum Exchange was 20 cents higher at $55.19 a barrel. Friday's close was the benchmark contract's...

SINGAPORE - Crude oil futures slipped further below $58 a barrel Friday amid reports of rising supply and falling demand. Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell 9 cents to $57.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in electronic trading in Singapore. On Thursday, the contract fell to $57.80, the lowest level for the front-month contract since July 21. The U.S. Energy Information Administration released data that showed natural gas in storage grew more than expected last week, surpassing a level that many analysts believe is necessary to meet winter demand. The Paris-based International Energy Agency said in...

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Crude oil prices held steady just below US$60 a barrel on Wednesday after predictions of warmer weather in the United States sparked a big drop two days earlier. Market experts said prospects for rising demand could keep prices at current levels. Light, sweet crude for December delivery gained 5 cent to US$59.90 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Tuesday, the contract rose 9 cents to settle at $59.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, where a day earlier they had fallen nearly US$1.50 to a level about 15 percent...