I've been wondering about the strike also, found this http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090202/... this morning. I haven't heard anything about bargaining points, which would be interesting to learn. The workers must be pretty upset, because most of the rest of us are happy just to be employed. -bbq

Labor negotiations continued Monday after some 24,000 refinery workers agreed to postpone a strike after their contract expired Saturday. The United Steelworkers agreed to a rolling 24-hour extension of talks.

A strike would affect 60 refineries. The biggest U.S. refiner, Valero Energy Corp., said it would shut down some facilities if workers walk out, as did European oil company BP PLC.

Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp., said the extension is leading the market to believe that there'll be a deal.

Gasoline futures tumbled more than 6 percent in midday trading, though retail gasoline continued its upward march.

"Obviously these talks can turn the other way. And if they do, the markets can turn the other way," Flynn said. "But I think getting through the weekend without a strike was enough for the market to speculate that they'll probably get a deal done."