Oil Off on OPEC, Gas Up on Explosions

Oil, Gasoline Futures Fall on Speculation OPEC Will Boost Output; Attacks Lift Natural Gas

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil and gasoline futures fell Monday on speculation OPEC may raise output at its meeting Tuesday.

Natural gas futures, meanwhile, jumped after a series of explosions hit natural gas pipelines owned by Mexico’s state-owned oil company. While there was no word about who made the attacks, left-wing guerillas have struck the country’s natural gas infrastructure in the past. The U.S. imported 12.7 million cubic feet of natural gas from Mexico in 2006, about 0.3 percent of total imports that year.
Oil and gasoline futures rose off earlier lows on news of the explosions, but were still trading lower on growing expectations Saudi Arabia is working behind the scenes to persuade other Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries ministers to increase production.

“The market’s in shock right now about the OPEC speculation,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago.

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OPEC’s decision Tuesday could have a big impact on where prices go from here.

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