Oil Prices Rise on Anticipation That Large Numbers of Americans Will Hit Road for 4th of July
VIENNA, Austria -- Oil prices rose Monday on anticipation that large numbers of Americans will take to the road for Independence Day.
Strong U.S. economic data and nagging concerns over Iran's nuclear defiance also put a high floor under prices.
Brent futures climbed 19 cents to $73.70 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange, their eighth consecutive gain. The New York Mercantile Exchange was closed for the U.S. holiday, and traders suggested that lack of Nymex trading kept prices from going even higher.
Worries about a supply crunch ahead of the July Fourth holiday grew after the U.S. government released a report Wednesday showing gasoline stocks shrank last week for the first time in more than two months.
Gasoline demand in the U.S. continues to rise in spite of soaring pump prices. Over the past four weeks, daily gasoline demand was up 0.9 percent from a year ago at 9.4 million barrels a day, according to Energy Department data. The average retail price of regular gasoline nationwide is $2.87 per gallon.
About 40.7 million Americans will travel 50 miles (80 kilometers) or more from home during the July Fourth holiday, up 1.2 percent from 40.2 million last year, according to projections by the AAA, the largest motor club in the United States.
Oil prices are up about 30 percent from a year ago, driven higher by strong demand and a limited supply cushion -- conditions that are worrisome to traders given the backdrop of considerable geopolitical uncertainty, such as violence in Nigeria, the war in Iraq and Iran's diplomatic showdown with the West over its nuclear program.
Iran is the No. 2 producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, and traders are worried about the outlook for those supplies.
PVM Oil Associates in Vienna reported that OPEC powerhouse Saudi Arabia "recently cut its crude output" to 9.26 million barrels a day compared to 9.45 million barrels in the first quarter of the year.
Still, PVM said, Iraq production is on the upswing, with 3.6 million barrels of Kirkuk crude being recently purchased by three international oil companies.
In an optimistic report, Iraq's Oil Ministry said last week that total production had increased to 2.5 million barrels per day, the highest level since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.
Still, insurgents continue to disrupt shipments. A bomb struck an oil pipeline in northern Iraq on Monday, setting it on fire, police Brig. Sarhat Qadiran official said.
The pipeline that was attacked was pumping oil to filter stations in Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, for export to Ceyhan, Turkey.
He said the explosion occurred at 5 a.m. in Bye Hassan, 65 kilometers (40 miles) southeast of Kirkuk. Firefighters on the scene were optimistic they could extinguish the flames by the evening, and Qadir said the attack was not expected to affect oil exports.
VIENNA, Austria -- Oil prices rose Monday on anticipation that large numbers of Americans will take to the road for Independence Day.
Strong U.S. economic data and nagging concerns over Iran's nuclear defiance also put a high floor under prices.
Brent futures climbed 19 cents to $73.70 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange, their eighth consecutive gain. The New York Mercantile Exchange was closed for the U.S. holiday, and traders suggested that lack of Nymex trading kept prices from going even higher.
Worries about a supply crunch ahead of the July Fourth holiday grew after the U.S. government released a report Wednesday showing gasoline stocks shrank last week for the first time in more than two months.
Gasoline demand in the U.S. continues to rise in spite of soaring pump prices. Over the past four weeks, daily gasoline demand was up 0.9 percent from a year ago at 9.4 million barrels a day, according to Energy Department data. The average retail price of regular gasoline nationwide is $2.87 per gallon.
About 40.7 million Americans will travel 50 miles (80 kilometers) or more from home during the July Fourth holiday, up 1.2 percent from 40.2 million last year, according to projections by the AAA, the largest motor club in the United States.
Oil prices are up about 30 percent from a year ago, driven higher by strong demand and a limited supply cushion -- conditions that are worrisome to traders given the backdrop of considerable geopolitical uncertainty, such as violence in Nigeria, the war in Iraq and Iran's diplomatic showdown with the West over its nuclear program.
Iran is the No. 2 producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, and traders are worried about the outlook for those supplies.
PVM Oil Associates in Vienna reported that OPEC powerhouse Saudi Arabia "recently cut its crude output" to 9.26 million barrels a day compared to 9.45 million barrels in the first quarter of the year.
Still, PVM said, Iraq production is on the upswing, with 3.6 million barrels of Kirkuk crude being recently purchased by three international oil companies.
In an optimistic report, Iraq's Oil Ministry said last week that total production had increased to 2.5 million barrels per day, the highest level since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.
Still, insurgents continue to disrupt shipments. A bomb struck an oil pipeline in northern Iraq on Monday, setting it on fire, police Brig. Sarhat Qadiran official said.
The pipeline that was attacked was pumping oil to filter stations in Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, for export to Ceyhan, Turkey.
He said the explosion occurred at 5 a.m. in Bye Hassan, 65 kilometers (40 miles) southeast of Kirkuk. Firefighters on the scene were optimistic they could extinguish the flames by the evening, and Qadir said the attack was not expected to affect oil exports.
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