Va. gas prices hit another record; oil falls after surge last week

Staff and the Associated Press
Published: May 12, 2008

Virginia gas prices reached yet another record high average price today, while oil prices fell after a heavy surge last week.

The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in Virginia was $3.64 this morning, up from $2.89 a gallon one year ago, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

Meanwhile, U.S. stocks headed for a moderately higher open Monday. Investors will look to a flurry of economic figures due this week to determine where the economy might be headed and what toll rising energy costs will have.

Light, sweet crude fell 66 cents to $125.30 per barrel in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices surged nearly $10 last week, touching off concerns about rising prices and their affect on businesses and consumers.

The dollar’s advance Monday appeared to help ease some concerns about inflation. A weak dollar can exacerbate price increases, especially since hard commodities like oil become more attractive to investors seeking a hedge against inflation.

Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 35, or 0.3 percent, to 12,779.

Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures advanced 5.20, or 0.4 percent, to 1,394.20, and Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 1.5, or 0.1 percent, to 1,964.8.

Bond prices slipped. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.79 percent from 3.78 percent late Friday. The dollar was higher against most other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

In corporate news, FedEx Corp. late Friday lowered its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings forecast, citing rising fuel costs.

MBIA on Monday posted a $2.41 billion first-quarter loss, as the struggling bond insurer took heavy charges to write down the value of liabilities amid continued deterioration in the credit markets.

First-quarter losses at wireless carrier Sprint Nextel more than doubled to $505 million, as it lost more monthly subscribers.

Mortgage lender IndyMac Bancorp swung to a first-quarter loss as credit markets continue to deteriorate.

Government figures are due on retail sales in April. And retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Macy’s Inc., JCPenney Co. and Kohls Corp. are due to report first-quarter results.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.64 percent. In morning trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.42 percent, Germany’s DAX index rose 0.56 percent, and France’s CAC-40 rose 0.66 percent.