BP (BP) (HNR) (RRC) (WTI) Close Up as Oil, Gas Continue to Rise

Harvest Natural Resources (NYSE:HNR), Range Resources (NYSE:RRC), W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI) and BP (NYSE:BP) closed up Thursday as oil and gas prices continue to move up.

Crude oil prices climbed above $112 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday while the U.S. dollar was up after three days of faltering.

The dollar index jumped 0.14 percent to 74.10, making up a little lost ground.

May delivery crude oil rose 80 cents in New York to $112.25 a barrel. Home heating oil fell 1.85 cents to $3.2174 a gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline was up 2.93 cents to $3.2777 a gallon.

Henry Hub natural gas prices gained 11.3 cents to $4.423 per million British thermal units.

According to the AAA, the national average price of unleaded gasoline rose to $3.848 a gallon Friday from Thursday's $3.84.

BP closed Thursday at $46.03, gaining $0.12, or 0.26 percent. W&T Offshore ended the day at $22.76, rising $0.01, or 0.04 percent. Range Resources closed at $54.21, jumping $1.26, or 2.38 percent. Harvest Natural Resources closed the session at $14.53, up $0.04, or 0.28 percent.

Hess (HES) (NOG) (PBR) (HK) Close Down as Oil, Gas Prices Fall

As perceptions demand for crude oil and gasoline will drop because of high prices, Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES), Northern Oil and Gas (Amex:NOG), Petrohawk Energy Corp. (NYSE:HK) and Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) all closed down Monday, as the overall sector took a breather.

Crude-oil futures dropped Monday as investors were worried about the possibility for slowing demand for oil after debt-ratings company Standard & Poor’s slashed its outlook on the U.S. government’s credit rating which resulted in a move away from stocks and growth-leveraged commodities.

Benchmark light, sweet crude for May delivery fell $2.54, or 2.3%, to $107.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That ended a three-day winning streak for oil.

Gasoline for May delivery on Monday was down 4 cents, or 1.1%, to $3.25 a gallon.

May heating oil fell 4 cents, or 1.3%, to $3.18 a gallon.

May natural gas was lower by 7 cents, or 1.6%, to $4.14 per million British thermal units.

Hess Corporation closed Monday at $77.21, down $1.67, or 2.12 percent. Northern Oil and Gas ended the day at $22.10, falling $1.26, or 5.39 percent. Petrohawk Energy Corp. closed at $26.00, dropping $0.31, or 1.18 percent. Petrobras closed at $36.33, losing $1.48, or 3.91 percent.

BP (BP) (APC) (COP) (XOM) Close Down as Oil, Gas Prices Fall

As perceptions that demand for crude oil and gasoline will drop because of high prices, shares of companies like BP (NYSE:BP), Anadarko (NYSE:APC), Conoco (NYSE:COP) and Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) all closed down Monday, as the overall sector took a breather.

Crude-oil futures were down Monday as investors were worried about the possibility for slowing demand for oil after debt-ratings company Standard & Poor’s slashed its outlook on the U.S. government’s credit rating which resulted in a move away from stocks and growth-leveraged commodities.

Benchmark light, sweet crude for May delivery dropped $2.54, or 2.3%, to $107.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That ended a three-day winning streak for oil.

Gasoline for May delivery on Monday was down 4 cents, or 1.1%, to $3.25 a gallon.

May heating oil fell 4 cents, or 1.3%, to $3.18 a gallon.

May natural gas was lower by 7 cents, or 1.6%, to $4.14 per million British thermal units.

Exxon Mobil closed at $83.10, down $1.19, or 1.41 percent. Anadarko ended the day at $77.38, falling $3.04, or 3.78 percent. ConocoPhillips closed at $77.61, dropping $1.51, or 1.91 percent. BP closed at $44.47, losing $0.49, or 1.09 percent.

Shell (RDS-A) (RRC) (CHK) (CVX) Close Down as Oil, Gas Prices Fall

As perceptions demand for crude oil and gasoline will drop because of high prices, shares of Range Resources (NYSE:RRC), Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK), Shell (NYSE:RDS-A) and Chevron (NYSE:CVX) all closed down Monday, as the overall sector took a breather.

Crude-oil futures were down Monday as investors were worried about the possibility for slowing demand for oil after debt-ratings company Standard & Poor’s slashed its outlook on the U.S. government’s credit rating which resulted in a move away from stocks and growth-leveraged commodities.

Benchmark light, sweet crude for May delivery dropped $2.54, or 2.3%, to $107.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That ended a three-day winning streak for oil.

Gasoline for May delivery on Monday was down 4 cents, or 1.1%, to $3.25 a gallon.

May heating oil fell 4 cents, or 1.3%, to $3.18 a gallon.

May natural gas was lower by 7 cents, or 1.6%, to $4.14 per million British thermal units.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) closed Monday at $104.50, down $1.74, or 1.64 percent. Shell ended the day at $71.22, falling $1.64, or 2.25 percent. Chesapeake Energy closed at $31.98, dropping $0.75, or 2.29 percent. Range Resources closed at $52.57, losing $0.68, or 1.28 percent.

Exxon (XOM) (COP) (RDS-a) (CVX) Closed Mixed as Oil, Gas Continue to Climb

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), Shell (NYSE:RDS-a) and Chevron (NYSE:CVX) traded mixed on Friday even as oil prices continue 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.

Chevron closed Friday at $106.24, gaining $1.36, or 1.30 percent. Royal Dutch Shell closed at $72.86, falling $0.50, or 0.68 percent. ConocoPhillips ended the day at $79.12, up $0.84, or 1.07 percent. Exxon Mobil closed at $84.29, rising $0.85, or 1.02 percent.

Marriott (MAR) Falls on Weak North American Sales

Shares of Marriott International (NYSE:MAR) are under pressure today as demand in North America is down below expectations, even though global demand has risen.

Marriot said in the first quarter it expects worldwide systemwide revenue per available room - a key industry metric — to rise by 7%, which is at the low end of earlier guidance.

It'll be interesting to see if other tourist-reliant companies like Disney (NYSE:DIS) and lodging competitors also fall. This could be an indication of consumer response to higher gas prices, a similar reaction from a couple of years ago.

Marriott was trading at $35.87, falling $1.79, or 4.75 percent, as of 1:08 PM EDT.

Ford (F), GM (GM) Toyota (TM) Ready for $4 Gas? Maybe

The way the auto industry operates in Europe and America are different, and the more volatile gas prices have an unpredictable element to them in the U.S., making it hard for manufacturers like Ford Motor (NYSE:F), General Motors (NYSE:GM) and Toyota (NYSE:TM) to plan accurately and effectively.

Just the time they think they're ready for changing conditions in the U.S. market, gas prices swing one way or the others, and they find themselves struggling to sell vehicles.

So even with the majority of analysts and professionals believing gas prices in America will reach $4 a gallon on average soon, consumers remember a couple of years ago when that happened, and it wasn't too long before they fell again, leaving them wanting to exchange vehicles in response.

Concerns from auto manufacturers are consumers could hold back on acquiring new vehicles at this time to see how long the high gas prices last, as they're already being pushed down on world events.

So while the auto makers are prepared for high gas prices with a variety of offerings for consumers concerned about costs, they have to temper that with vehicles that would sell well if gas prices fall for a period of time again.

In the current economic situation, it's a thankless and impossible job, but one they have to attempt to work out if they want to be successful.

At this time they seem to be balanced in their vehicle offerings, but would face supply problems if gas prices take off one way or the other for a prolonged period.

Exxon (XOM) CEO Sees Oil Prices Entering Dangerous Zone

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) CEO Rex Tillerson says at this time the rising price of oil is still not doing too much damage to the economy or American consumer, but as it approaches $4 a gallon, it will definitely have a detrimental effect.

At this time oil is at close to $104 a barrel, with the national average for gasoline standing at $3.52 a gallon. And the price is expected to increase through spring and into summer.

Citing the last time gasoline prices hit $4 a gallon, Tillerson said he saw driving and spending habits of consumers changing at that point. Many in the tourism industry at that time can attest to that fact.

Average American families will face "some real challenges" if gas moves up to that level again, concluded Tillerson.

In July 2008 gas prices peaked at $4.11 a gallon.

Ford (F), GM (GM), Chrysler February Sales Jump

February sales for the three major U.S. automakers were all up in February, as Ford (NYSE:F), GM (NYSE:GM), Chrysler all enjoyed decent months, although General Motors was easily the leader, with car and truck sales in the U.S. rising 49 percent.

Analysts had been looking for sales to increase by about 20 percent in February, making GM's performance a surprise, but Ford's and Chrysler's a disappointment.

Ford's sales rose by 12.6 percent over last February, while Chrysler's was up by 13.8 percent.

It remains to be seen how positive the sales increase was for General Motors though, as the had to offer incentives on leasing and financing to generate the sales. Margins and earnings could be under pressure even with the sales.

GM was trading at $32.75, down $0.78, or 2.33 percent, as of 1:21 PM EST. Ford was at $14.74, falling $0.31, or 2.06 percent.

It appears macro-economic issues like higher gas prices are weighing on the share prices of the companies.