Oil Prices Tumble as Global Demand Concerns Resurge

Crude and heating oil prices dropped sharply this morning as the markets reeled from last week’s unemployment data that reinforced the severity of the U.S. recession.  The price for a barrel of crude had fallen by 5.5% and stood at $39.59 at 9:44 am eastern time.  The price of heating oil fell less sharply, but had lost 1.5% in morning trading.  Concern over still-decreasing demand in the U.S. as a result of a major recession dominated the sentiment of the market, according to Marketwatch.com, which cited the 2.6 million jobs lost in 2008, the most since 1945.

Analyst Nimit Khamar of Sucden Financial Research summed up the situation for MarketWatch: “The demand destruction amid continued weakness in the global economy coupled with excess supply in the market at the moment is likely to continue to dominate sentiment.”

HEAT USA Price Report
Today’s average retail heating oil price per gallon: DOWN $0.02 to $0.03
Morning projection (for Tuesday’s average price per gallon): DOWN $0.02