NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices spiked to a new record above $147 a barrel Friday, as rising hostilities between the West and Iran and the potential for attacks on Nigerian oil facilities gave investors reason to rush back into the energy markets.
Another drop in the U.S. dollar also lured buyers.
The resurgence in crude prices not only raises the concern that $4-a-gallon gasoline is here to stay for U.S. drivers -- it also means that heating homes could get significantly more expensive this winter. Heating oil futures surged on the New York Mercantile Exchange to a record of more than $4.15 a gallon, and natural gas also rose.
"If you think your gasoline bills are expensive now, wait till you get your home heating bill this winter," said Stephen Schork, an analyst and trader in Villanova, Pa.
Emphasis added by me.
And so the U.S. will soon be using the buzzterm from England: "energy poverty."
Previously here:
Chronicles Of Depression 2.0: #063
New Buzzterm: Energy Poverty
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