| Energy prices hit more record highs
NEW YORK - The rise in energy prices gained momentum yesterday, with retail gasoline prices increasing further into record territory and diesel and heating-oil futures setting records of their own amid concerns about strong global demand and tight supplies. Crude-oil prices fell modestly as a sharp downturn in the stock market and worries about the economy prompted some profit-taking. But with the Federal Reserve expected to cut interest rates again next week, analysts expect the dollar to weaken further, propelling crude to new heights. At the pump, gasoline prices set records for the fourth straight day, rising 1.3 cents yesterday to a national average price of $3.28 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Average prices are nearing $4 in some parts of Hawaii. In Philadelphia, the average pump price rose a penny yesterday, to $3.21 a gallon.
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You don�t need me to tell you, but the $1,000 mark is the latest to fall beneath gold�s mighty rise.
Even so, as a benchmark, the number $1,000 is meaningless. It represents no new high in the inflation-adjusted prices that count. And it is not attached to a magic switch that assures, once flipped, the price must subsequently march to the $1,200 forecasted for this year by our own Bud Conrad. (Who is now poking with his fork at the suspicious-looking meat resting on his dinner plate in China where he is visiting.)
Of course, decisively taking out the $1,000 level will, undoubtedly, result in yet more features in the mainstream media and cause yet more regret in the minds of those who have dumbly stood by while watching gold break through the whole numbers divisible by 100.
Wheat's next: Soaring costs raise grocery prices
If you think the cost of gassing up your car is outrageous, wait until you need to restock your pantry. The price of wheat has more than tripled during the past 10 months, making Americans' daily bread -- and bagels and pizza and pasta -- feel a little like luxury items. And baked goods aren't the only ones getting more expensive: Experts expect some 80 percent of grocery prices will spike too, and could remain steep for years. "It's going to affect everything ... impact on every section of the grocery store," said Michael Bittel, senior vice president of King Arthur Flour Co. in Norwich, Vt. Consumers such as Maria Cardena feel trapped by the prices. She said the bread she buys has jumped from 69 cents a loaf to $1.09 in recent weeks. "You have to buy it," said Cardena, a 29-year-old mother from Lubbock, Texas.
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