HOUSTON - The punch of Hurricane Gustav appeared to fall softly Monday on the vast energy complex along the U.S. Gulf Coast, alleviating fears of a fuel shortage and potentially delivering a break to businesses and consumers.

NEW YORK - Oil prices plunged Monday, pulling back at least temporarily from record levels as investors feared that the financial crisis that forced the sale of Bear Stearns Cos. is a sign of deep economic trouble.

WASHINGTON -Crude oil futures jumped 4 percent Friday after a thwarted attack on a massive oil facility in Saudi Arabia rattled a market already jittery about supply disruptions in Nigeria and Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Oil prices fell slightly on Monday following a commitment from OPEC’s president that the group was prepared to keep the market well supplied.

LONDON - Oil prices retreated from record-highs on Friday as concerns about Russian supplies dissipated somewhat and OPEC said it was prepared to raise daily output by more than one million barrels.

WASHINGTON - Oil prices rose Thursday despite reports that refineries along the Gulf Coast, as well as production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, that had been shut down were slowly being restaffed, as Hurricane Ivan proved to be less disruptive than feared.

WASHINGTON - Oil prices inched closer to $50 a barrel Thursday even as the Bush administration offered to tap the nation’s emergency stockpile of crude on behalf of refiners whose supply was disrupted by Hurricane Ivan.

WASHINGTON - The price of oil reached a new high Monday, settling at $41.72 per barrel as traders shrugged off Saudi Arabia’s pledge to immediately pump more crude because other OPEC members refuse to formally increase the cartel’s daily production quota.

Crude oil prices have fallen sharply recently, but gasoline prices have yet to show any signs of coming down because of a strong demand and short supplies, analysts said.

LONDON - Oil prices surged near $42 a barrel Monday as markets shrugged off a Saudi proposal that OPEC raise its official output target by 6 percent. Separately, the Energy Department said the average U.S. retail price of a gallon of gasoline passed $2 for the first time.

NEW YORK - Oil prices plunged to the lowest level in five months Tuesday, falling to within sight of $100 a barrel on signs that Hurricane Gustav only grazed U.S. energy infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico.

NEW YORK - The rising price of oil isn’t just swelling Americans’ energy bills — it’s also holding back their stock portfolios.

NEW YORK - More gas and oil records fell Monday as retail fuel prices struck highs and crude settled above $127 for the first time, tightening the squeeze on drivers planning holiday road trips next weekend.

NEW YORK - Oil’s rise to $100 a barrel, which seemed a done deal as recently as two days ago, was dealt a severe blow Wednesday when the government reported an increase in supplies at the Nymex delivery terminal in Cushing, Okla., which is closely watched by traders as a benchmark of oil inventory tightness.

NEW YORK - Stocks retreated from historically lofty levels Monday as rising oil prices chilled investor enthusiasm for strong earnings reports and new takeover activity. The Dow Jones industrials came within 17 points of 13,000 before pulling back.

NEW YORK - Wall Street struggled but ultimately closed higher Thursday as a bounce in technology stocks and sharply lower oil prices helped investors brush off concerns about sluggish consumer spending.

LONDON - Oil prices jumped by more than $1 a barrel Monday following a production shutdown at an Alaskan oil field that accounts for about 8 percent of U.S. production.

LONDON - Crude oil prices see-sawed Monday, plunging more than $1 a barrel on a report that Iran had accepted incentives to resolve a dispute over its nuclear program, then quickly retraced some lost ground as Israel's operations against Hezbollah seemed unlikely to end soon.

Crude-oil futures rose Friday as traders kept a wary eye on the path of Hurricane Wilma heading into the weekend.

VIENNA, Austria - Crude oil futures prices slipped Friday amid conflicting signals from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and a relatively upbeat assessment of energy prices from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.

Crude oil surpassed $50 a barrel for the first time and analysts said Tuesday that prices could keep rising because of a sharp rise in global demand, tight supplies and threats to output in petroleum-producing nations such as Iraq and Nigeria.