Tracking gas prices -- baltimoresun.com

As gas prices soar, traffic deaths slow

Rising prices at the gas pump appear to be having at least one positive effect: Traffic deaths around the country are plummeting, just as they did during the Arab oil embargo more than three decades ago. More

Big Oil big on dividends and buybacks

Giant oil companies such as Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips are set to report what will probably be another round of eye-popping quarterly profits. Which raises the question: Just where is all that money going? More

Pump price edges down

Prices at the pump pulled back from record highs yesterday as another slide in the price of oil capped crude's biggest one-week drop in more than three years. More

Oil falls $15 on 3-day decline

Oil prices fell below $130 a barrel for the first time in more than a month yesterday, as a dramatic slide entered a third day along with a sharp sell-off in natural gas. More

Oil prices fall again, down $10 in 2-day erratic sell-off

Oil prices settled sharply lower for the second day in a row yesterday, leaving crude more than $10 cheaper in just two days of frenzied trading and prompting speculation that the hard-charging market may be running out of steam. More

Oil plunges 4.4% after volatile trading

Oil prices fell harder than they have in 17 years yesterday, as fears that record fuel prices are spreading broad economic pain exacerbated the third big sell-off in just over a week. More

Crude hits a record $147

It's only July, but it might be time to start loading up on blankets and sweaters. Oil spiked to another trading record as hostilities rise between the West and Iran - raising the likelihood that this winter's heating bills will be the priciest yet. More

Oil supplies keeping pace, OPEC says

World energy needs will spike by more than 50 percent by 2030 but adequate oil reserves, conservation and new methods of recovery mean supply will keep pace with demand, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said yesterday. OPEC's secretary general acknowledged that dangers exist. Addressing one - the threat of a U.S. or Israeli attack on Iran - he said OPEC would be unable to make up for resulting oil shortfalls. More

Bright side of high gas prices

Residents in once-quiet Thomasville have started complaining about traffic jams on Route 43, which runs right through the town. More

S. American version of OPEC envisioned

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is inviting South American leaders to create their version of OPEC. The socialist president says the group, known as Petrosur, would link state oil and gas companies in a system like the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which sets production quotas for members. Venezuela has South America's largest reserves: 310 billion barrels of recoverable oil. Chavez said he does not expect oil prices to fall below $100 a barrel and says Venezuela is willing to donate $1 per exported barrel to finance South American farmers. Chavez met yesterday with regional leaders in San Miguel de Tucuman, Argentina. He praised Brazil's sugar cane-based biofuels industry, but not the United States' "crazy" use of corn for the fuel. More

Hammered

The economic slowdown and high gasoline prices hit carmakers hard in June. More

$4-a-gallon gas taking a toll

Four-dollar gasoline has stolen a beach vacation from Julie Jacobs' family in Baltimore, "little small luxuries" like exotic bath washes from Angela Crawford and dinners out from folks all over the country. Phil English has had to sell his beloved but fuel-guzzling red pickup. More

Global policies sought to deal with soaring energy costs

As oil set a new record, top industry executives and a senior European Union official urged the world yesterday to pull together in the face of skyrocketing energy prices, while acknowledging that - even if it does - costly crude is here to stay for years. More

IRS raises mileage deductible rate 8 cents

Many motorists believe that every little bit counts when it comes to gasoline prices. More

Saudi plan fails to stem oil price rise

Oil prices rose yesterday on disappointment over Saudi Arabia's modest production increase and concerns that output from Nigeria will decline. Retail gas prices, meanwhile, inched lower Sunday night, but appear unlikely to change much as long as oil prices stay in their current trading range. More

Oil-price manipulation targeted by U.S. agency

The chief federal regulator of U.S. oil contract trades announced yesterday steps to restrain price manipulation and excessive speculation that many experts believe are driving up gasoline prices. More

Oil futures veer erratically, fall back 25¢; gas hits $4.08

Crude oil futures swung wildly yesterday, rising to a record and then tumbling as investors wrestled with whether they should put stock in Saudi Arabia's promise to boost production. More

OPEC president rules out oil output rise

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries President Chakib Khelil ruled out the possibility that the oil-producer group would raise output to curb record prices when it meets with consuming nations in Saudi Arabia this month. More

Cabbies take stand amid high gas prices

Hailing a cab in Baltimore could get more difficult this summer. More

More stares but less fuel

Gas prices may have risen steadily all year, but Steve David's 40-mile round-trip commute from Randallstown to downtown Baltimore has only been getting cheaper. More

Gas reaches new high as oil price slips a bit

Americans getting an early start on the Memorial Day weekend found that gasoline prices again sprinted to a new record high Wednesday night, reaching a national average above $3.83 a gallon. Some analysts predict gas will break past $4 as early as next week. More

Costs up, but most still going

Ocean City boosters have revived their 1970s slogan that half a tank will get you there. At Deep Creek Lake, a rental agency is offering a $25 gas card as an incentive to vacationers. And in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, the owner of a beachfront home is cutting the rate on a week's rental "to save you $150 to use for gas!" More

Cooking oil war under way

A few years ago, drums of used french fry grease were only of interest to a small network of underground biofuel brewers, who would use the slimy oil to power their souped-up antique Mercedes. More

As gas goes up again, crude price drops a bit

Gas prices roared above $3.75 a gallon yesterday, while oil prices fell as an Energy Department report gave a mixed picture of the nation's petroleum reserves. More

Retailers

Gasoline price blues weigh on dealers, too

Sajid Chaudhry sells gasoline for a living, so with pump prices approaching $4 a gallon, you'd think he'd be celebrating. More

Energy: OPEC cut oil output 1% in April

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cut oil production 1 percent in April, as Nigerian output dropped to the lowest this decade, a Bloomberg News survey showed. OPEC pumped an average 32.105 million barrels a day last month, down 320,000 barrels from March, according to the survey of oil companies, producers and analysts. March output was revised up by 75,000 barrels a day. Production by the 12 members with quotas, all except Iraq, fell 305,000 barrels to 29.74 million barrels a day. Nigerian production dropped 160,000 barrels to an average 1.88 million barrels a day last month, the biggest decline of any member, the survey showed. It was the lowest output for the West African country since August 1999. More