Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.energy From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: energy Wed, Jun 17 1992 Date: Wed, 17 Jun 92 05:19:38 EDT Message-ID: 06-17 0000 DECISIONLINE: Energy USA TODAY Update June 17, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network SUMMER TO SEE HIGHER GAS PRICES: Motorists can expect to pay 5 cents a gallon more for gasoline by Labor Day if crude oil prices and the demand for gasoline continue to rise, analysts predict. Nationally, the average price for a gallon of self-serve, regular unleaded gasoline last week was $1.165, according to the American Automobile Association; up 1.9 cents from the previous week. (For more, see special Gasoline package.) GAS PRICES HIT POST-WAR HIGH: The national average price of self-serve regular unleaded gasoline rose 1.1 cents this week to $1.176 a gallon, its highest point since the U.S.-Iraq war, the American Automobile Association said Tuesday. That's the highest price since February 1991, when it was $1.183 a gallon. The price of self-serve mid-grade unleaded was up 0.9 cent at $1.265. Premium unleaded rose 0.9 cent to $1.349. CRUDE PRICES FALL A BIT: Crude oil prices fell marginally Tuesday in subdued trading. On the Mercantile Exchange, the price of benchmark light sweet crude for July delivery fell 6 cents a barrel to settle at $22.31, erasing a 6-cent gain. Traders were refraining from any bold buying or selling in advance of U.N. talks Friday on the possible renewal of Iraqi oil sales. REFINED PRODUCTS DIP: Refined petroleum prices slipped Tuesday. Wholesale home-heating oil for July delivery fell .24 cent to settle at 60.80 cents a gallon; wholesale unleaded gasoline for July delivery fell .34 cent to settle at 65.38 cents a gallon. Natural gas prices, which often behave differently than other fuel prices, settled at $1.603 per 1,000 cubic feet for July delivery, up from $1.563. COAL MINERS' FUND PROVISO ADDED: The Senate Finance Committee Tuesday approved an additional tax on the coal industry to pay health-care costs of retired coal miners whose health benefits are in jeopardy. The tax, added to the Senate energy bill, will pay the health-care costs for those miners whose companies no longer exist or no longer pay into the United Mine Workers' health-care funds. It must clear the full Senate. SHIP MOVED BY ELECTROMAGNETS: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan Tuesday successfully tested the world's first ship propelled by superconducting electromagnets instead of a propeller. The 280-ton Yamato 1, which made a 30-minute voyage, is propelled by electrified sea water. The water is forced through ducts by a magnetic field created by superconducting electromagnetic coils. SUPERCONDUCTOR LOSES NO ENERGY: The successful test voyage of the Yamato 1, which is powered by superconducting electromagnets, showed the possibility of building a quiet high-speed ship with superior fuel economy, says Japan's Ship and Ocean Foundation, which sponsored the long-range project. A superconductor is a material that when supercooled transmits electricity with no loss of energy. CHEAPER OIL HELPS DEFICIT: Cheaper foreign oil helped improve the USA's trade balance the first quarter. The nation's current account deficit - a broad measure of international flows of merchandise, investments and services - fell to $5.3 billion from $7.2 billion the fourth quarter. The deficit on merchandise trade in the first quarter decreased to $17.5 billion from $18.5 billion. MANUFACTURING OUTPUT HIGHER: Manufacturing output rose for the fourth straight month in May, the Federal Reserve reported Tuesday. Production at factories, mines and utilities rose 0.6% last month from April, with the biggest gain coming in auto and truck production, which rose 5.2%. Settlement of a strike at machinery maker Caterpillar also helped output. Factory output excluding utilities and mines rose 0.7%. PEABODY ANNOUNCES LAYOFFS: Peabody Coal Co. said Tuesday it will lay off 60 workers when it closes its River King No. 6 mine in Randolph County, Ill., in mid-August. The company said its coal reserves are expected to be exhausted by then. In mid-November, 55 more workers will be laid off, and the remaining 65 will continue on the job to perform reclamation work for the next two years. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON GASOLINE: PRICES AFFECTING ECONOMY: The latest increase in gasoline prices is the 11th consecutive week that prices have risen. A gallon of gasoline is now 11.6 cents higher than it was in early March, when it was $1.049, according to the AAA. Higher energy prices are hurting an already weak economy. Economists last week named a surge in gasoline prices as the biggest factor behind a sharp rise in wholesale prices in May. PRICES NOT SEEN STAYING STABLE: The improving economy and relative stability in the Middle East won't mean stable prices, analysts say. There are too many factors in the industry that set the tone for where gasoline prices go. "Retail prices will go up as long as crude oil prices increase and major oil companies dictate retail prices," said Michael Kunnen, president of the Greater Cincinnati Gasoline Dealers Association. COMPETITION PUMPING UP PRICES: Conditions that are pumping up prices: Competition, the summer driving season, lower oil inventories, higher crude oil prices and last month's decision by OPEC to keep its production ceiling unchanged this fall. Crude oil now sells for around $22.25 a barrel, up from about $19.50 a barrel as of Jan. 6. Companies that control a large share of the market also are pushing up gas prices. SUMMER DRIVING TO BE ACTIVE: William Berman, director of environment and energy for the American Automobile Association, said oil companies are increasing prices because they expect the summer driving season will be more active than last summer. However, George J. Gaspar, first vice president of petroleum research at Robert W. Baird & Co., said prices are rising because of an upturn in gasoline demand. (End of package.) Energy Editor: William Snoddy. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM