opec

Bad News Sends Gas Prices Racing Downward

Just as fast as gas prices rose, they're now in retreat. Monday's AAA Fuel Report Gage puts the national average of regular at $3.703, down from $3.970 a month ago. Several factors could push gas below $3.50 over the next several weeks, and almost none of them were part of the economic landscape a quarter ago.

Financial Landscape: Banks Get No Love; OPEC Vs. OPEC

As a new week begins on Wall Street, nobody wants bank stocks, J.P. Morgan Chase hints at changes at the top, OPEC ministers tussle over crude, and airlines are in for some financial turbulence. In fact, the only good news is for France, which apparently won't lose the IMF over the DSK scandal.

The Financial Landscape: OPEC Quotas and 'Too Big to Fail'

The theme for Thursday is big players adjusting to a changing world: Citigroup is shutting down a major hedge fund it used for soon-to-be-banned proprietary trading, Goldman has been subpoenaed over its role in the subprime mortgage crisis, and OPEC is thinking that it might need to pump more oil.

Will Saudi Arabia's Gambit Drive Oil Prices Even Higher?

Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said his country cut oil production in March because the market was oversupplied. Was this move an honest bid to a bid to expose the speculators and push prices back down, or an attempt to capitalize on the current instability to propel prices higher?

Five Ways the Government Could Make Oil Prices Fall

Sky-high oil and gas prices risk tipping the U.S. economy back into recession. But Washington isn't powerless when it comes to oil prices: Here are five things that the federal and state governments can do that would quickly reduce pain at the pump.

It May Be Time to Get Used to Costly Gas Prices

And that means it may be time for owners of gas-thirsty SUVs and cars to start considering the switch so many Americans are loath to make: to a far more fuel-efficient vehicle. Looking out over the next several years, it's hard to see oil -- and gasoline -- falling back to earlier lows.

Consumer Sentiment Index Jumps to Three-Year High

The markets may have had a rough weak as U.S. GDP growth was revised down and Middle East unrest caused oil prices to rise, but the consumer sentiment index rose to its highest level since January 2008. Sentiment has risen for about six months -- an encouraging sign -- but oil prices could sour the mood.

Natural Gas: A Cure for America's Crazy Oil Addiction

Events in the Mideast have, once again, revealed the U.S. economy's vulnerability to an oil shock. Now more than ever, the nation must reduce its consumption of oil, especially from abroad, and become energy self-sufficient. And the way to do it is with our abundant domestic sources of natural gas.

Is Oil Output Peaking or Not? Either Way, Cheap Oil Is Gone

Proponents of the peak-oil theory can muster studies and statistics backing their claim that declining global oil output is nigh. Critics point to new technologies and unconventional oil fields as saviors. Either way, a return to the days of $1.50-a-gallon gasoline isn't going to happen.

Natural Gas Can Be America's Fuel of the Future

Unless there's a breakthrough in battery technology, gasoline will remain the primary auto fuel in the U.S. for years. But our dependence on imported oil comes with a major risk of supply disruption. And the U.S. has a domestic alternative that's ready and reliable: natural gas.

Oil Prices Are Likely to Drop Before They Rally Again

With an oversupply of oil on the market and OPEC afraid that higher prices will impair the U.S. recovery and sap demand, the fundamentals point to an oil price drop in the near term. Yes, markets move on emotion, and fears about unrest in Egypt have reversed that downward price trend, but the drop is probably coming.

Will the Economic Recovery Slide on $90 Oil?

As crude prices keep inching upward, the threat to both the U.S. and global economy is clear. While OPEC says don't blame us, the Interational Energy Agencys says: "This is a wake-up call to the oil-consuming countries and to the oil producers."

The East Coast's Big Blizzard Isn't Cooling Oil Prices

Oil prices kept rising this weekend as a blizzard smacked into the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S. and as OPEC's Arab ministers met in Cairo to discuss strategy. Their call is for production to stay at current levels, which will help keep the upward pressure on prices.

Oil Prices Head Toward $90 After Fed Move

Crude oil hit a six-month high Wednesday, and many forces are in place to drive prices even higher. Not least is demand from China, now the largest importer of oil.