clarinews@clarinet.com (WALTER ANDREWS) (02/03/90)
_U_n_i_t_e_d_ _P_r_e_s_s_ _I_n_t_e_r_n_a_t_i_o_n_a_l With market attention focused on the inventory building season, gasoline led oil prices up on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday, spurred by reports of problems in Venezuelan refineries. Unleaded gasoline for March delivery finished the day on the Merc at 64.22 cents a gallon, up 1.52 cents on the day and 1.64 cents on the week. March home heating oil also gained 1.52 cents on the Merc to 58.22 cents a gallon, 0.50 cents higher than a week ago. On the important New York Harbor cash market, unleaded gasoline bid for 63.35 cents a gallon, 1.75 cents higher on the day and 0.70 cent on the week. Heating oil bid up 1.50 cents to 59.25 cents a gallon, 0.85 cent less than last Friday. The benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery finished up 32 cents on the Merc at $23.02 a barrel, but down 46 cents on the week. WTI was being quoted at $23 a barrel on the U.S. Gulf Coast cash market, up 35 cents on the day and 50 cents on the week. There were reports that Venezuela's state-own oil company had informed customers it was cancelling some gasoline cargos and that there had been a fire at one of its large refineries. ``(The reports) were obviously having an impact on the market today,'' said Chris Bray of Paine Webber Inc., Andover, Mass. ``We're at the inventory building time of year when gasoline becomes the focus of attention and prices tend to rise,'' said Bill Hinton of Stotler & Co., New York. Bray said gasoline led the market up with crude and heating oil prices rising ``in sympathy.'' Hinton noted that heating oil also received some support from colder weather moving into the Northeast after a period of unseasonably warm weather with snow reported Friday afternoon in parts of upstate New York and New England. Bray commented that over the last 18 months ``we've only had a handful of (Merc) closes above $23 a barrel for WTI. You can count em.'' On the European spot market, Britain's widely traded North Sea Brent climbed 25 cents to $20.85 a barrel. The United Arab Emirates' Dubai light -- the key OPEC Middle East crude from the Middle East, mainly exported to the Far East -- gained 10 cents to $16.95 a barrel. Three oil companies -- Sun Co. in Radnor, Pa., the Conoco unit of du Pont in Houston and USX Corp.'s Marathon Oil Co. subsidiary in Findlay, Ohio -- raised the posted prices they will pay for crude at the wellhead to $22 a barrel for WTI. The Marathon increase was 25 cents a barrel. The other two raised their buying price by 50 cents.