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Unleaded Gasoline Futures And Heating Oil Reach Records On Weak DollarMay 20th, 2008Unleaded Gasoline futures and heating oil advanced to records,following crude oil, as traders bought commodities to hedge against aweaker dollar. Gasoline rose as U.S. motorists prepared for Memorial Day on May 26,the first holiday of the summer vacation season. Heating oil is used bysome traders as a surrogate for diesel, a similar fuel. The euro gainedafter the International Monetary Fund said the U.S. housing slump posesrisks for the markets. ``I think it's the dollar crashing again,'' said Michael Smith,president of T&K Futures & Options in Port Saint Lucie,Florida. ``For some reason the correlation between commodities and theU.S. dollar has just been extreme, twice as high as average.'' Gasoline for June delivery rose 5.44 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $3.291 agallon at 11:52 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange after reachinga record $3.3035 a gallon. The dollar fell against the euro as the International Monetary Fundsaid the U.S. housing slump still poses ``serious risks'' to financialmarkets. Gasoline demand has risen 1.7 percent in the past two weeks, EnergyDepartment data show. Fuel use typically advances to an annual peakduring the summer months. Heating oil for June delivery rose 9.82 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $3.7734 a gallon after reaching a record $3.792. ``There's a lot of speculative buying in the market and a lot offoreign demand that is paying a premium and taking the product,'' Smithsaid. Crude oil rose above $129 a barrel in New York for the first time afterbillionaire hedge-fund manager Boone Pickens said oil will reach $150 abarrel this year. Crude oil for June delivery rose $2.22, or 1.8 percent, to $129.27 abarrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures reached an all-timehigh of $129.58 a barrel. Prices are 95 percent higher than a year ago. - Barbara Powell in Dallas at Bloomberg. Click here for your Free Unleaded Gas Futures Trading eGuide | |