Home / Markets / Commodities

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Oil Approaches $55 a Barrel, Nearing Five-Month High

Kathryn Elizabeth Tuggle

FOXBusiness

Crude oil neared a five-month high on Tuesday, approaching $55 per barrel before falling 74 cents to close at $53.84on the New York Mercantile Exchange. This comes after Monday’s close of $54.47, the highest since November of last year. The price of crude oil for June delivery has risen almost 8% since this time last week.

On Tuesday morning, Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, announced to Congress that the economy should rally by the end of 2009, a statement that’s being credited with an uptick in energy prices. Additionally, positive economic news from China and India are being factored in.

Of course, this comes in the face of rising crude stocks which rose 4.1 million barrels last week. To combat the rise, many refineries have cut production.

In London on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent crude rose by 1.70 cents to $54.55 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

At the pump, consumers can expect to pay a bit more as gas prices continue to climb. The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded now stands at $2.07, a 2009 high. Today’s prices are still around $1.50 cheaper per gallon than they were this time last year.

Also on the Nymex, natural gas for June delivery fell 11 cents to $3.615 per 1,000 cubic feet, while reformulated gasoline for June delivery dropped by 1.83 cents per gallon to close at $1.5722.