CRUDE OIL

For those purchasing a new car and looking to save on gasoline prices, here is a list of the top 15 fuel efficient cars out on the market, according to ConsumerReports.org.

The price of gasoline in the U.S. is expected to hit $4.00 by summer, and could potentially spike even further. Much of this has to do to with events in other parts of the world.

Crude oil prices jumped in European trade Monday after Iran said it halted oil exports to the UK and France in reply to the European Union's economic sanctions over its disputed nuclear program.

Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived in Tehran on Monday for talks on the disputed nuclear program of Iran, a day after the Islamic country responded defiantly to tightened EU sanctions by halting oil sales to British and French companies.

European stock markets opened with gains Thursday as expectations mounted that the Greece bailout deal would be reached at the EU finance ministers' meeting Monday.

Asian stock markets made gains on Monday as policy easing by China and expectations of a final sign-off of the second bailout package for Greece buoyed investor sentiment.

Asian markets rose across the board Monday as policy easing by China and expectations that Greece will secure a second bailout buoyed investor appetite for riskier assets, sending U.S. crude up nearly 2 percent and copper nearly 3 percent higher.

Iran has halted sales of crude oil to British and French companies, the oil ministry said Sunday. Exporting crude to British and French companies has been stopped, representative Alireza Nikzad was quoted as saying by the Islamic Republic's ministry of petroleum Web site.

BP PLC idled production at its Cherry Point refinery in Washington state on Saturday, a day after a large fire broke out near the core crude oil unit of the third-largest plant on the West Coast. The idling of the plant near Ferndale, Wash., could drive fuel prices higher next week.

The government of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez is emerging as a rare supplier of diesel to Syria, potentially helping the government of the Middle Eastern country's Bashar al-Assad fuel its military in the midst of a bloody crackdown on civilian protests and undermining Western sanctions.

The consumer price index rose 0.2 percent, below the expected 0.3 percent, according to the January consumer price index report from the Labor Department which could be suggesting a strengthening of the economic recovery.

While Indian authorities have launched an investigation into Monday's New Delhi car bombing, and its suspected masterminds, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government has continued to embrace trading with the country that is widely suspected of the attacks -- Iran.

Oil prices moved higher in Asian trade Friday as tension between Western countries and Iran continued to intensify.

Robust economic data and European Central Bank support for Greece energized U.S. stocks Thursday, as investors ignored possible bank downgrades and lifted equities to a nine-month high.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Thursday issued a renewed pollution discharge permit for ConocoPhillip's idled refinery in Delaware County.

Gas prices on average have gained 12 cents a gallon in just the last month, the AAA reports. At an average $3.51 a gallon, that's 38 cents above 2011. What's happening?

Oil prices are up about 0.85 percent in New York trading.

Iran President President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has already asserted that Iran will never halt its uranium enrichment program.

Top Greek refiner Hellenic Petroleum said on Wednesday it had not been informed of a cut in Iranian oil exports toGreece but that it was confident of finding alternative sources of fuel if needed.

Oil-rich Cuba is starting to drill offshore by awarding a contract to Spain's Repsol. But the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela could be the biggest beneficiary.

Chesapeake Energy Corp is seeking as much as $12 billion from assets sales and joint ventures to cope with a cash crunch amid rising debt and tumbling gas prices.