By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Jan. 20 -- Energy futures prices continued to rise Friday following an announcement made by US Sec. of State Colin Powell that indicated the US would likely have additional proof by the end of this month showing that Iraq was not in fact cooperating with United Nations weapons inspectors.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday, the February contract for benchmark US light, sweet crudes gained 25¢ to close at $33.91/bbl, while the March contract stood at $32.96/bbl, up 15¢ on the day. Heating oil for February delivery also closed higher to finish at 89.86¢ /gal, up 0.19¢. Unleaded gasoline also gained, jumping 0.35¢ for the same month's delivery to 91.11¢ /gal.
The February natural gas contract fell by 10.9¢ Friday to $5.54/Mcf on NYMEX. Trading was shortened ahead of a long holiday weekend with the Monday observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
In London Friday, meanwhile, the February contract for North Sea Brent oil closed little changed on the International Petroleum Exchange, possibly waiting on word about what the US action would be on Iraq as well as the outcome of the strike in Venezuela.
The February contract for North Sea Brent oil settled at $30.54/bbl, down 4¢ from the previous close. Prices for the day swayed between a $30/bbl low and a $30.70/bbl high.
Meanwhile, the February natural gas contract, holding fairly steady, lost 11.2¢ to the equivalent of $3.32/Mcf on IPE.
The average price for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' basket of seven benchmark crudes pushed ahead to $31.02/bbl Friday, up 15¢.
