Oil prices posted the biggest one-day dollar gain ever Monday Sept. 22 as the dollar fell in response to Washington’s $700 billion Wall Street bailout plan. October oil contracts surged in afternoon trading, reaching $130—a more than $25 gain. It dropped back down to settle at $120.92 a barrel, up $16.37 from Friday’s close. The gain eclipsed the $10.75 spike in oil on June 6. (CNNMoney.com, Sept. 22)
Gasoline prices are inflated nationwide in the wake of refinery closures caused by Hurricane Ike, but especially in South, which is experiencing sever shortages. In Nashville, about 70% of the area’s gas stations are out of gasoline, according to the Tennessee Oil Marketers Association. In Georgia, which has only one small refinery, a gallon of regular sold at $3.976, more than 30 cents higher since Ike hit land on Sept. 13. (WSJ, Sept. 23)
See our last post on the oil shock/econocataclysm.
