Pressure Hits (BP) (GEOI) (ROSE) (LINE) (LUFK) as Oil Demand Falls

Falling demand for fuel has pushed down oil inventories and the price of oil, putting pressure on GeoResources (NASDAQ:GEOI), Rosetta Resources (NASDAQ:ROSE), Linn Energy, LLC (NASDAQ:LINE), Lufkin Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:LUFK) and BP (NYSE:BP).

Light, sweet crude for June delivery settled down $2.47, or 2.2%, at $111.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. London Brent crude for June fell $2.67 to settle at $122.45 a barrel.

Front-month June reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, settled down $1.85 cents, or 0.6%, at $3.3294 a gallon. June heating oil lost 6.13 cents, or 1.9%, to settle at $3.1908 a gallon.

Gasoline prices on average across America have jumped to just under $4.00 a gallon, rising to $3.97 a gallon for regular gas, according to AAA.

Silver is considered the key catalyst for downward pressure on oil prices and trading, as it has become a proxy to some for risk appetite among commodity traders.

After selling out of silver commodity traders followed up with divesting of positions in oil as well.

Even so, it appears the slight strengthening of the U.S dollar played a bit role Tuesday as well.

Rosetta Resources closed at $41.86, falling $2.95, or 6.58 percent.

Hess (HES) (APC) (HAL) (KOG) Close Up as Oil Jumps Again

Uncertainty as to the sustainability of high gasoline prices have been surfacing lately, but in America, it seems the higher prices aren't going away any time soon, and neither will higher oil prices, as Anadarko (NYSE:APC), Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) and Kodiak Oil & Gas (AMEX:KOG) closed up on Tuesday.

Oil rose above $108 a barrel Tuesday, as the U.S. dollar weakened against other major currencies.

Benchmark crude for May delivery rose $1.03 to settle at $108.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Tuesday is the last trading day for that contract. Oil for June delivery climbed 59 cents to settle at $108.28 a barrel.

In other Nymex trading for May contracts, heating oil lost 2.43 cents to settle at $3.1585 a gallon and gasoline futures fell 1.97 cents to settle at $3.2331 a gallon. Natural gas jumped 12.4 cents to settle at $4.262 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude fell 28 cents to settle at $121.33 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Kodiak Oil & Gas closed Tuesday at $6.96, gaining $0.58, or 9.09 percent. Hess Corporation ended the day at $78.56, rising $1.35, or 1.75. Halliburton closed at $49.01, jumping $1.87, or 3.97 percent. Anadarko closed the session at $78.78, up $1.40, or 1.81 percent.

BP (BP) (XOM) (APA) (DVN) Close Up as Oil Jumps Again

Questions as to the sustainability of high gasoline prices have been surfacing, but in America, it appears the higher prices aren't going away any time soon, and neither will higher oil prices, as BP (NYSE:BP), Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), Apache Corp (NYSE:APA) and Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) closed up on Tuesday.

Oil rose above $108 a barrel Tuesday, as the U.S. dollar weakened against other major currencies.

Benchmark crude for May delivery rose $1.03 to settle at $108.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Tuesday is the last trading day for that contract. Oil for June delivery climbed 59 cents to settle at $108.28 a barrel.

In other Nymex trading for May contracts, heating oil lost 2.43 cents to settle at $3.1585 a gallon and gasoline futures fell 1.97 cents to settle at $3.2331 a gallon. Natural gas jumped 12.4 cents to settle at $4.262 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude fell 28 cents to settle at $121.33 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

BP closed Tuesday at $44.68, gaining $0.21, or 0.47 percent. Devon Energy ended the day at $86.97, rising $0.78, or 0.90. Apache Corp. closed at $121.99, jumping $1.11, or 0.92 percent. Exxon Mobil closed the session at $83.80, up $0.70, or 0.84 percent.

Apache (APA) (TSO) (EGY) (XCO) Closed Mixed as Oil, Gas Continue to

Apache Corp (NYSE:APA), Tesoro Corporation (NYSE:TSO), Vaalco Energy (NYSE:EGY) and Exco Resources Inc. (NYSE:XCO) closed mixed on Friday even as oil prices continued to rise, along with gasoline prices, which have risen on national average for 24 days in a row.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery on Friday climbed $1.55 to settle at $109.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. At one point it rose to $110.10. In London, Brent crude added $1.45 to settle at $123.45 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Gasoline Friday rose 5.45 cents to settle at $3.2892 a gallon. Natural gas dropped 0.8 cent to settle at $4.204 per 1,000 cubic feet. Heating oil increased 3.52 cents to settle at $3.2242 a gallon.

The average price of gasoline is now above $4 a gallon in five states, and it is about rise to that level in New York and Washington, D.C. over the weekend.

Exco Resources Inc. closed Friday at $20.66, falling $0.12, or 0.58 percent. Vaalco Energy closed at $6.88, gaining $0.06, or 0.88 percent. Tesoro Corporation ended the session at $26.54, gaining $0.41, or 1.57 percent. Apache closed at $122.40, down $0.01, or 0.01 percent.

Oasis (OAS) (BRY) (BEXP) (CPE) Closed Mixed as Oil, Gas Continue to

Oasis Petroleum (NYSE:OAS), Berry Petroleum (NYSE:BRY), Brigham Exploration (Nasdaq:BEXP) and Callon Petroleum (NYSE:CPE) closed mixed on Friday even as oil prices continued to rise, along with gasoline prices, which have risen on national average for 24 days in a row.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery on Friday climbed $1.55 to settle at $109.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. At one point it rose to $110.10. In London, Brent crude added $1.45 to settle at $123.45 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Gasoline Friday rose 5.45 cents to settle at $3.2892 a gallon. Natural gas dropped 0.8 cent to settle at $4.204 per 1,000 cubic feet. Heating oil increased 3.52 cents to settle at $3.2242 a gallon.

The average price of gasoline is now above $4 a gallon in five states, and it is about rise to that level in New York and Washington, D.C. over the weekend.

Callon Petroleum closed Friday at $6.70, gaining $0.06, or 0.90 percent. Brigham Exploration closed at $33.58, falling $0.22, or 0.65 percent. Berry Petroleum ended the session at $51.06, up $1.27, or 2.55 percent. Oasis Petroleum closed at $30.49, up $0.68, or 2.28 percent.

KB Home (NYSE:KBH), Ryland Group (NYSE:RYL) and MDC Holdings (NYSE:MDC), Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY), PHLX (Nasdaq:HGX) Down as Homebuilding Remains Under Heavy Pressure

The market did little to inspire today, and the homebuilding sector continues to be punished, with KB Home (NYSE:KBH), Ryland Group (NYSE:RYL) and MDC Holdings (NYSE:MDC) and Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) all down, and the PHLX housing index (Nasdaq:HGX) falling.

Rising oil prices and tumbling bank shares dragged Wall Street lower on Friday, with stocks surrendering the previous session's hefty gains.

Brent crude prices hovered near $116 a barrel as Libyan security forces began a violent crackdown on protesters in Tripoli and clashed with rebels near a major oil terminal.

Data earlier in the week had raised expectations about Friday's employment report, lifting stocks to their biggest gains in three months on Thursday. But after Friday's report showed February job gains roughly in line with expectations, investors quickly turned their focus to rising oil prices and Libyan unrest.

"The (market) battle is: has the economy turned in a permanent way, or are higher oil prices going to slow everything down," said Bernie McGinn, president at McGinn Investment Management in Alexandria, Virginia.

The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI:DJI) lost 147.66 points, or 1.20 percent, to 12,110.54. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (SPX) fell 15.40 points, or 1.16 percent, to 1,315.57. The Nasdaq Composite Index (Nasdaq:IXIC) dropped 24.70 points, or 0.88 percent, to 2,774.04.




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Brent Soars Above $110 as Libya Burns

Oil futures rallied above $110 a barrel on Wednesday, posting the biggest three-day percentage gain in a year, as the escalating violence in Libya could further reduce its production.

Between 300,000 and 400,000 barrels per day of Libyan output -- up to 25 percent -- has been shut down, according to Reuters calculations, marking the first cut in oil supplies related to the recent wave of anti-government unrest in North Africa and the Middle East.

After Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi vowed in a defiant speech on Tuesday that he would not step down, promising severe punishment to his detractors, analysts fear that long-lasting supply disruptions or even permanent damage lies ahead for the OPEC member's oil industry.



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Sell December 2011 U.S. Oil Futures JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) Advises

JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) recommends that investors should buy up Brent contracts and sell their West Texas Intermediate crude for December 2011, citing the expanding discount of New York futures to the London benchmark.

On Wednesday the disparity between West Texas to Brent grew to just over $4.00.

JPMorgan said, “Strong demand generates high margins, which in return leads to a ramp-up of refinery capacity. The stronger the increase in margins, the more likely it is that refiners will respond by a combined overkill. We think that is happening now.”

Brent contracts have outpaced New York contracts at an 18 percent growth rate to an 11 percent rate in 2010.