THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 22, 1995 TAG: 9512220535
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
Natural gas for January delivery soared to record prices Thursday as cold weather blanketing the Northeast caused demand to swell, accelerating a stockpile decline. January heating oil rose 0.11 cent to 60.01 cents a gallon, its highest price since Nov. 2, 1992.
If the weather stays cold, traders are concerned the drawdowns will leave gas supplies uncomfortably low. ``There just isn't enough production for the demand we're seeing,'' said Will Baird of MG Natural Gas Corp. in Houston. ``The reason prices are really blasting off is that winter came early.'' (Bloomberg Business News) Urban cowboys in Fords to have propane version
Ford Motor Co. will sell a propane-powered version of its F-150 pickup early next year. The trucks will go about a mile less on each gallon (13 miles in the city and 17 on the highway) than gasoline-powered F-150s. Propane typically costs 15 percent less than gasoline.
Ford didn't disclose the price of the propane trucks. Last year it began selling F-150s powered by natural gas in Texas for about $15,000, or $4,000 more than the base price of the gasoline model. Ford said it has sold about 500 of the natural gas models. (Bloomberg) Va. NAACP says blacks might avoid Circuit City
The Virginia NAACP said Thursday that blacks should consider whether they want to shop at Circuit City stores in light of the Richmond company's lack of a response to its request to discuss allegations of discrimination.
Federal lawsuits were filed about seven weeks ago on behalf of dozens of blacks, accusing the giant Richmond electronics chain of discriminating against black employees. Ann M. Collier, spokeswoman for Circuit City, said Thursday that the letter did not arrive until Tuesday. But she said the company cannot discuss the matter with any group while litigation is pending. (AP) by CNB