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Oil Prices Rise on Cold US Weather, Natural Gas Hits New High

Posted on: Friday, 9 December 2005, 09:00 CST

Oil prices rise on cold US weather, natural gas hits new high

NEW YORK, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- New York crude futures rebounded above 60 dollars a barrel Thursday while natural gas prices jumped to a record high as cold weather in the eastern part of the United States raised concerns about increased demand for home-heating fuels this winter.

Light sweet crude for January delivery jumped 1.45 dollars to 60.66 dollars a barrel. In London, January Brent crude rallied 1. 69 dollars to finish at 58.67 dollars a barrel.

January natural gas futures surged 1.20 dollars to 14.90 dollars per 1,000 cubic feet on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a new intraday high for the front-month contract. The previous record was 14.75 dollars set when the December contract was the front month. That rally in natural gas helped fuel the hike in oil prices.

A major winter storm was forecast for the Southeast and heavy snow was expected in the Northeast on Thursday, while temperatures in the Midwest were expected to warm. Many major cities in the Northeast will see heavy snowfall, although in some cities closer to the coast the snow will switch to a mix of rain and snow.

While there is enough natural gas in storage in the US for a normal winter, this early blast of frigid temperatures has made the market nervous about the possibility of a colder-than-normal winter.

Heating oil futures jumped by almost 4 cents to 1.775 dollars per gallon, while gasoline futures rose more than 5 cents to 1. 6225 dollars a gallon.

Thursday's market action came as traders looked ahead to a one- day meeting of the 11-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries on Monday in Kuwait City.

But analysts say OPEC has no reason to change policy at the meeting because the oil market is well supplied and prices are at an acceptable level.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

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