FROM Canoe News: http://www.canoe.ca/MoneyOil/mw_crudeoil6.html

U.S. West Coast fuel prices keep rising on refiners, oil By KERM YERMAN

U.S. West Coast fuel prices continued to gain ground on Monday, extending recent advanced on refinery glitches and high crude oil prices.

Traders said that gasoline prices were stronger because of slim supplies in the region, caused by refiners with operating problems and refiners delaying crude oil purchases in hopes of prices falling from over $30-a-barrel levels.

In Los Angeles, California's ultra-clean CARB gasoline a cent to trade at $1.12 a gallon on the spot market. San Francisco prices were about two cents higher than the L.A. market.

Traders pointed to a downed hydrocracker at Chevron's Richmond refinery, still not repaired after a fire a year ago at the site. They said Tosco and Equilon had problems with their San Francisco-area refineries as well, but neither refiner returned calls.

Chevron reportedly had a power "interruption" over the weekend, and a spokesman said extra gas passed through the safety flare at its El Segundo, Calif., refinery. Sources said Exxon Mobil's Torrance refinery also experienced a power disturbance over the weekend.

Prices for gasoline are high across the country because of 9-year high oil prices. California fuel prices tend to be stronger because of the additional costs of producing the CARB blend.

Diesel and jet fuel prices also advanced posted increases in the region. Distillate prices had lagged the gasoline price run-up.

Northwest gasoline prices firmed a cent out of Portland to about 96 cents a gallon.

Retail prices in California continued to rise, nearing $1.50 a gallon in the state and in the Pacific Northwest.

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-- meg davis (meg9999@aol.com), February 29, 2000