January 21, 2000

Oil prices have begun surging again in last two weeks, with OPEC vowing to continue restraints on production; price of crude oil is now $29.20 a barrel and is expected to reach $30 or more; gasoline prices are at 77.33 cents a gallon in futures market and heading to over $1.30 at the pump; near-term home heating oil futures contract is up to 86.46 cents a gallon, after climbing 8.6 percent on Jan 20; price jumps are spilling over into financial markets; concerns about oil's impact on inflation have sent bond prices lower and yields higher; if OPEC does not relent, relatively low levels of oil inventories and strong demand mean that prices will move higher; Energy Information Administration and American Petroleum Institute say total US inventories of crude oil are at their lowest level since end of 1996; demand in December was 19.8 million barrels a day, highest for month since 1978; International Energy Agency forecasts that worldwide demand will rise 2.4 percent this year, biggest gain since 1997; many analysts do not expect OPEC officials to risk pushing price of oil too far above $30 a barrel; graph; chart; photo (M)

Experts on Connecticut's criminal justice system, commenting on arrest of Michael Skakel in Martha Moxley murder case, predict that his prosecution will encounter years of legal tie-ups; say there is no forensic evidence linking Skakel to killing in Greenwich almost 25 years ago; notes that Skakel was charged as minor because he was only 15 when Moxley was killed, and his Feb 8 hearing will be held in Stamford Juvenile Court, not State Superior Court, where adults accused of murder in Connecticut are prosecuted; photo (M)

Census Bureau officially begins its count for 2000 census, interviewing Intuit Indians in remote Unalakleet, Alaska; bureau will attempt to count population of United States, and find out where every one of estimated 275 million Americans are living on April 1; Constutition calls for a count every 10 years to fix number of House seats for each state, and states use number to draw legislative districts; in addition, billions of dollars in Federal aid will be distributed on basis of how population is counted; photo (L)

F.C.C. Adopts Hiring Rules For Broadcasting Industry The Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules intended to increase job opportunities for minorities and women in the broadcasting industry, replacing previous guidelines that a federal appeals court said had unconstitutionally imposed quotas. The new rules, adopted by a vote of 4 to 1, are a carefully fashioned effort by the commission and its chairman, William E. Kennard, to retain some kind of pressure on the broadcasting industry to seek members of minorities and women as job applicants without violating the court's 1998 ruling. [Page A16.]

Sen Jesse Helms visits United Nations Security Council offering 'hand of friendship' but delivers sort of clenched-fist message that has made him symbol of right-wing hostility toward United Nations; Helms, North Carolina Republican and most powerful Congressional voice in foreign policy as chmn of Senate Foreign Relations Committee, contends Congress has right to dictate conditions for payment of American debts to organization; warns UN to keep its 'utopian' visions away from American sovereignty (M)