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Oil Prices Climb on Cold Weather, Growing Asian Economies
As of 8:58 am EST, the price of crude had risen by 2.42 percent to reach $81.28 a barrel and the price of heating oil had gained 2.52 percent.
HEAT USA Price Report
Today’s average retail heating oil price per gallon: Up $0.01
Morning projection (for Tuesday’s average price per gallon): Up $0.06
Heating oil continues to rally on [...]
UPDATE: US Economic Growth Brings Midday Price Change
Heating oil’s drop in price from Wednesday only lasted a few hours, as positive economic data caused a spike in oil prices. News that the US economy grew in the last quarter spurred beliefs that the recession had ended and that economic recovery would revive oil demand, sending crude and heating oil prices upward [...]
Read More »Positive Economic Data from US, UK Lift Oil Prices
At 8:56 am EDT, the price of crude had gained 0.5 percent to reach $72.85 a barrel and the price of heating oil had risen by 0.7 percent.
HEAT USA Price Report
Today’s average retail heating oil price per gallon: UP $0.02
Morning projection (for Monday’s price per gallon): UP $0.01
Crude and heating oil prices are back on [...]
The HEAT Zone is Going on Vacation!
Dear HEAT Zone readers,
The HZ will be taking a weeklong summer vacation starting tomorrow, so you won’t see any new posts until we return. Come back for regular visits after next Thursday, July 23rd, to find the same high-quality, comprehensive heating oil and energy news you need to know.
Cheers,
The HEAT Zone Staff
UPDATE: Midday Price Increases After Crude Reaches New High
Today’s steep increases of crude and heating oil prices (that sent crude to a 7-month high price) on NYMEX have resulted in midday increases in the retail price of heating oil, HEAT USA price experts reported at 11:30 am EDT.
HEAT USA Price Report
MIDDAY PRICE CHANGE (of today’s average retail heating oil price): UP $0.05
Falling Dollar Extends Oil’s Gains; Crude Posts Biggest 1-Month Rise in a Decade
The price of crude rose by 1.9 percent today to close at $66.31 a barrel and the price of heating gained 2.9 percent.
HEAT USA Price Report
Evening projection (for Monday’s average retail heating oil price per gallon): UP $0.05
The positive economic news that drove up oil prices this morning continued to lend support, pushing the price [...]
Oil Prices Inch Upward on Stock Market Surge; Crude Re-Crosses $50 Barrier
Oil prices continued to follow their recent pattern of modest gains this morning boosted by another surge in US stocks following positive corporate earnings reports. Low demand and massive stockpiles of crude and other petroleum products in the US, the world’s biggest oil consumer, continued to loom over the market, limiting gains. The price of [...]
Read More »The Debate Over Domestic Oil
TOP: Oil shale extraction (image: sfgate.com), BOTTOM: Oil platforms off the coast of Southern California (image: patdollard.com)
With a new president in office formulating a new energy policy that promises to be a major departure from that of his predecessor, the debate over domestic sources of crude is heating up once again. All [...]
Read More »How to Follow Oil Prices
Twice a day every weekday, The HEAT Zone blog posts a brief report on crude and heating oil prices, and offers an explanation as to why they are moving up or down. What follows is a simple guide to help HEAT This Week readers get a clear understanding of what those regular price reports [...]
Read More »Retraction
Dear HeatZone Reader,
In an inadvertent error, the HEAT Zone made reference to a Massachusetts heating oil dealer who was leading the charge into Biofuels. The author of the blog mistakenly referred to this dealer as part of the HEAT USA dealer network. This is not the case, and we seriously regret any confusion it may [...]
Collision of Two US Navy Vessels in Straight of Hormuz Causes Brief Spike in Oil Prices
A US submarine and US amphibious ship collided in the Straight of Hormuz, between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula today, sending oil the price of crude on a short rally before it returned to its downward track.
News of the incident reached the US in the late morning, causing the price of crude to jump $0.39 [...]
Exxon Posts Record 2008 Profits, Despite Low Oil Prices
Exxon, the world’s largest publicly-traded oil corporation, took in the largest profit ever of any American company in 2008, Jad Mouawad of the New York Times reported.
Exxon posted the record profit of $45.2 billion in 2008 despite plummeting oil prices in the fourth quarter. According to the Times report, lost less money than its competitors [...]
Crude Prices Up on OPEC Reductions, Optimism Toward Obama Economic Rescue Package; Heating Oil Up Slightly
The price for a barrel of crude shot up by 6.6% today, settling at $43.55 at the market’s close. Heating oil prices climbed much more slowly, gaining just 0.9% on the day, supported by continuing cold weather in the Northeast and Midwest. Announcements from several OPEC member states that they are currently meeting production reduction [...]
Read More »Industry Exec: Middle East Could Meet Daytime Needs With Solar Power
Stefan Muller, an executive at the German renewable energy company Conergy, presenting at the World Future Energy Summit and Exhibition in Abu Dhabi, said that the Middle East region could meet all if its daytime energy needs with solar power. The statement was part of a larger effort by industry executives to convince businesses in [...]
Read More »Crude Prices Down on End of Conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, Heating Oil Falls
The resolution of Israel’s military action against Hamas in Gaza and Russia’s natural gas fight with Ukraine held down crude oil prices throughout the day, sending the price for a barrel of crude down 7.2 percent to $33.89. The March 2009 crude contract opens tomorrow on NYMEX. Heating oil prices slipped downward, losing about 3%.
HEAT [...]
Refining Heating Oil From Crude: Distillation
How does crude oil that’s pumped out of the ground make its way to your home’s heating oil tank? One important step in the process is refining–the process of treating crude oil to extract different petroleum products. Crude oil contains the building blocks (carbons) of many different petroleum products all mixed together, and the refining [...]
Read More »UPDATE: Market Gains Lead to Mid-Morning Heating Oil Price Hikes
Heating oil wholesalers reacted quickly to a spike in the price of heating oil this morning, instituting a price increase at 10:30 am eastern time.
HEAT USA Price Report
Mid-morning retail heating oil price change: UP $0.08
Oil Prices Continue Climb on Political Events
Crude and heating oil continued on their upswings this morning as the armed conflict in Gaza and contract dispute between Russia and Ukraine once again dominated the news. Crude oil hit a one-month high of $50.10 a barrel and heating oil had gained over 5% as of 10:02 am eastern time.
From CNBC.com: “‘Oil prices continue [...]
Gaza Violence Once Again Leads Oil Prices Up; U.S. Reserve Buildup and Russian Conflict With Ukraine Help Support
Fears that Israel’s ground and air campaign against Hamas in Gaza could disrupt future oil supplies from the Middle East continued to dictate the mood of the market today, lifting crude and heating oil prices by 4.5% and 6%, respectively. Crude oil closed the day at $48.81 a barrel on NYMEX. Last week’s announcement by [...]
Read More »The Strategic Petroleum Reserve: America’s Safety Valve or Oil Industry’s Cash Cow?
In 1975, after the tense days of the Middle Eastern oil embargo, Congress passed the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. One part of this act was to create a Strategic Petroleum Reserve–a massive quantity of crude oil owned by the government and stored on U.S. soil–that could be used to alleviate shortages and depress prices [...]
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