Tight supply and high demand will keep the price of gasoline at $4 or above through 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Guy Caruso, head of the Energy Information Administration, told a House hearing that crude oil prices will likely average $126 a barrel in 2009. Gas prices will hit $4.15 a gallon in August, and won't fall much after that, he stated.
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Friday, June 13, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
Consumer debt jumps $8.9 billion
Personal debt rises as Americans take out more fixed-payment loans.
Americans' personal debt jumped to a more-than-expected $2.6 trillion in April, according to a report from the Federal Reserve released Friday.
The total debt held by individuals rose $8.9 billion from the prior month. Analysts polled by Briefing.com had expected personal debt to increase by only $7 billion.
The category of debt that includes credit cards, referred to as "revolving credit," rose by a mere $300 million, while the category that includes fixed-payment loans, such as student and car loans, jumped $8.7 billion.
The government report excludes mortgages and home equity loans.
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Americans' personal debt jumped to a more-than-expected $2.6 trillion in April, according to a report from the Federal Reserve released Friday.
The total debt held by individuals rose $8.9 billion from the prior month. Analysts polled by Briefing.com had expected personal debt to increase by only $7 billion.
The category of debt that includes credit cards, referred to as "revolving credit," rose by a mere $300 million, while the category that includes fixed-payment loans, such as student and car loans, jumped $8.7 billion.
The government report excludes mortgages and home equity loans.
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U.K. Producer Prices Rise at Fastest Pace Since 1986
U.K. producer prices increased at the quickest pace in two decades in May, increasing the odds the Bank of England will refrain from interest-rate cuts even as the economy veers toward a recession.
Prices charged by factories rose 1.6 percent from April, the Office for National Statistics said in London today. That's the most since comparable records began in 1986 and double the 0.8 percent median forecast of 32 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. From a year earlier, prices rose 8.9 percent.
The pound rose and U.K. two-year notes fell the most in a decade after the report gave the clearest sign to date that manufacturers are passing the burden of record oil costs onto customers. The Bank of England kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged last week after Governor Mervyn King signaled there is little scope to lower borrowing costs as inflation accelerates.
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Prices charged by factories rose 1.6 percent from April, the Office for National Statistics said in London today. That's the most since comparable records began in 1986 and double the 0.8 percent median forecast of 32 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. From a year earlier, prices rose 8.9 percent.
The pound rose and U.K. two-year notes fell the most in a decade after the report gave the clearest sign to date that manufacturers are passing the burden of record oil costs onto customers. The Bank of England kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged last week after Governor Mervyn King signaled there is little scope to lower borrowing costs as inflation accelerates.
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Pending Sales of Existing Homes Unexpectedly Rise
The number of Americans signing contracts to buy existing homes unexpectedly rose as the first national drop in prices since the 1930s lured buyers back into the market in the West, Midwest and South.
The index of pending home resales jumped 6.3 percent in April, the most since 2001, after a 1 percent drop in March, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. The March reading was the lowest level since the NAR started keeping records eight years ago.
The figures may be a sign that the glut of 5 million unsold properties may be on the way down, which economists say is a prerequisite for stabilization in the industry. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke warned last week that the economy will remain in danger of weakening further until housing reaches a bottom
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The index of pending home resales jumped 6.3 percent in April, the most since 2001, after a 1 percent drop in March, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. The March reading was the lowest level since the NAR started keeping records eight years ago.
The figures may be a sign that the glut of 5 million unsold properties may be on the way down, which economists say is a prerequisite for stabilization in the industry. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke warned last week that the economy will remain in danger of weakening further until housing reaches a bottom
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Gas price record reaches $4 a gallon
AAA's daily survey tops the milestone for the first time after a 1.7-cent rise. Lundberg survey nears $4 as well.
Gasoline rose to a milestone mark Sunday as the national average compiled by motorist group AAA reached $4 a gallon for the first time.
In a second survey, the average price came within 0.2 cent of $4 a gallon in the Lundberg Survey, which showed a 20-cent rise in the past three weeks to a new record.
The national average for regular unleaded rose 1.7 cents to $4.005, according the daily measure on the AAA's Web site. That surpassed the previous record of $3.989 set Thursday.
The milestone was expected after a surge in crude oil prices added more than $16 to a barrel of oil over the last 2 trading days. Crude settled at a record $138.54 a barrel Friday, up by $10.75, after setting an all-time intraday high of $139.12.
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Gasoline rose to a milestone mark Sunday as the national average compiled by motorist group AAA reached $4 a gallon for the first time.
In a second survey, the average price came within 0.2 cent of $4 a gallon in the Lundberg Survey, which showed a 20-cent rise in the past three weeks to a new record.
The national average for regular unleaded rose 1.7 cents to $4.005, according the daily measure on the AAA's Web site. That surpassed the previous record of $3.989 set Thursday.
The milestone was expected after a surge in crude oil prices added more than $16 to a barrel of oil over the last 2 trading days. Crude settled at a record $138.54 a barrel Friday, up by $10.75, after setting an all-time intraday high of $139.12.
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Unemployment spike stirs stimulus talk
Democratic leaders in Congress call for new measures to spur economy and help unemployed.
The dismal jobs report on Friday has prompted renewed calls for a second congressional effort to stimulate the economy.
The Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate jumped to 5.5% in May from 5% a month earlier. It was the biggest monthly increase in more than 20 years.
Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill said the report shows that Congress and the Bush administration need to do more to help workers and the unemployed.
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The dismal jobs report on Friday has prompted renewed calls for a second congressional effort to stimulate the economy.
The Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate jumped to 5.5% in May from 5% a month earlier. It was the biggest monthly increase in more than 20 years.
Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill said the report shows that Congress and the Bush administration need to do more to help workers and the unemployed.
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Unemployment pain to continue - index
A new employment trends measure from the Conference Board signals that more months of job losses lie ahead.
Unemployment is likely to continue to rise as companies cut more jobs, according to a new index from a respected business research group released Monday.
The Conference Board's Employment Trends Index (ETI) uses eight widely followed readings on employment and economic activity from both government and industry sources.
The Conference Board said the decline in the index's May reading suggests that the labor market hasn't yet hit bottom. The organization has computed the index readings back 35 years and found that it accurately predicts all turns in the labor market accurately during that period.
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Unemployment is likely to continue to rise as companies cut more jobs, according to a new index from a respected business research group released Monday.
The Conference Board's Employment Trends Index (ETI) uses eight widely followed readings on employment and economic activity from both government and industry sources.
The Conference Board said the decline in the index's May reading suggests that the labor market hasn't yet hit bottom. The organization has computed the index readings back 35 years and found that it accurately predicts all turns in the labor market accurately during that period.
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