Oil prices rise above $72 a barrel
(AP)
Updated: 2006-06-28 19:13
Last week, oil prices rose after government data showed a
smaller-than-expected build in domestic gasoline inventories.
The U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday the Calcasieu Ship Channel remains closed
but that limited tug and barge traffic has resumed through an intercoastal
waterway.
The channel has been off limits due to the spread of oil from a spill last
week at the Citgo Petroleum Corp. facility in Lake Charles, Louisiana. It could
remain closed through the end of the week, depending on how the cleanup
proceeds, according to Coast Guard petty officer Chad Saylor.
On Tuesday, Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the country does not need
negotiations with the United States over its nuclear program, apparently seeking
to reassure hard-liners the country will not cave in as it considers a key
Western incentives package.
Iran is OPEC's No. 2 producer of oil, and traders are worried about the
outlook for those supplies.
Washington has warned Iran that it could face political and economic
sanctions before the U.N. Security Council if it doesn't stop its nuclear
activities, which the United States and its European allies say is an attempt to
produce nuclear weapons. Tehran says the uranium will be used only for a
peaceful energy program.
In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures rose slightly to $1.9670 a
gallon, while natural gas futures rose a cent to $6.120 per 1,000 cubic feet.
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