Prices Tripled

Hi again and once more according to information received, fuel oil for the first time in two years is rising faster than gasoline, jet fuel and diesel, increasing the cost of ocean freight and electricity.

Demand for the fuel used in marine engines and power plants is accelerating because the world shipping fleet is growing at a record pace

``Every new refinery wants to produce more gasoline and diesel and cut back fuel oil,''

About 37 percent of global fuel oil supply is consumed in Asia, compared with 19 percent in Europe and 10 percent in North America, according to BP's Annual Statistical Review of World Energy. The rest is burned in Africa and Latin America.

World economic growth is spurring the increase in shipping demand. The International Monetary Fund forecasts a 5.2 percent expansion in 2007, extending the longest period that growth rates have held above 4 percent since the early 1970s.
More than 8,000 vessels are on order for delivery by 2012, compared with the existing global fleet of 10,729, according to London-based Clarkson Plc, the world's largest shipbroker.