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Heating Oil Futures, Oil, Gasoline Rise To Records On Supply ConcernMay 8th, 2008Crude oil rose above $124 a barrel for the first time, and gasoline andheating oil also touched records, on forecasts for stronger demand fordistillate fuels, which include heating oil and diesel. ``There's huge diesel demand growth in Asia, which is going to keeppressure on supplies,'' said James Ritterbusch, president ofRitterbusch & Associates, in Galena, Illinois. ``Whenever there's abig rise in one energy market there's an impact on the psychology ofthe other markets. Also, demand for crude oil will rise as refinersboost distillate output.'' Oil jumped above $123 a barrel yesterday after a government reportshowed that U.S. distillate-fuel inventories and refinery operationsfell last week. Crude oil for June delivery climbed 16 cents to settle at $123.69 abarrel at the 2:46 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange, thehighest close since trading began in 1983. Prices reached a record$124.61 a barrel today. Futures are double the level of a year ago. Distillate stockpiles declined 107,000 barrels to 105.7 million, theEnergy Department reported yesterday. A 1.1 million- barrel decline wasforecast, according to the median of 13 estimates in a Bloomberg Newssurvey. Heating Oil Heating oil for June delivery climbed 6.25 cents, or 1.8 percent, to$3.5098 a gallon in New York, the highest close since trading began in1978. The contract reached $3.5310 today, a record intraday price. Sometraders use heating-oil futures to hedge their diesel and jet-fuelpurchases. Gasoline futures for June delivery rose 1.96 cents, or 0.6 percent, toclose at a record $3.1378 a gallon in New York after reaching anintraday record of $3.1545 a gallon. ``A combination of tight supplies, the weak dollar and investorssearching for value in this unstable economic climate have fueled therally,'' said Rachel Ziemba an analyst at RGE Monitor, an economicresearch company in New York. ``The dynamic we are looking at is thatof oil behaving as a financial asset.'' The euro rose from an eight-week low against the dollar after ECBPresident Jean-Claude Trichet said inflation remains the bank's toppriority, signaling policy makers won't cut interest rates soon. The euro climbed 0.2 percent to $1.5415 at 2:20 p.m. in New York, erasing earlier losses that drove it as low as $1.5285. ``The bull market isn't over,'' said Peter Beutel, president of energyconsultant Cameron Hanover Inc. in New Canaan, Connecticut. ``We had anumber of stories over the last week that were bearish and ignored bythe market, and I don't expect this cherry picking of the news to endanytime soon.'' Brent crude oil for June settlement rose 52 cents, or 0.4 percent, to$122.84 a barrel on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange, the highestclose since trading began in 1988. The contract touched $123.92 today,an intraday record. - Mark Shenk in New York at Bloomberg. Click here for your Free Heating Oil Futures Trading eGuide | |