Crude Down, Heating Oil Up as Inventory Report Sinks In

At 9:43 am EDT, the price of crude had fallen by 0.6 percent to $71.57 a barrel and the price of heating oil had gained 0.2 percent.

HEAT USA Price Report

Today’s average retail price per gallon: NO CHANGE (from 2 pm yesterday)
Morning projection (for Friday’s average price per gallon): UP $0.01

The effects of yesterday’s EIA inventory reports are still being felt on the markets this morning.  The surprise 1.7-million-barrel increase in crude inventories reinvigorated fears of excessive supply and the 1.1-million-barrel drop in distillate inventories continued to drive up heating oil prices.  Stock market gains in Europe and the US stimulated some hopefulness on the world economy, but those gains were quickly overshadowed by still-growing US crude inventories, which signify lackluster oil demand in the world’s biggest oil consumer.  The decrease in distillate stocks, which some analysts have attributed to higher diesel demand as the US recession tapers off, pushed heating oil prices up for the fourth consecutive day.

HEAT USA price experts reported that retail heating oil prices had stayed flat since yesterday afternoon’s price increase.  Based on the upward trend established earlier this week and this morning’s price increases, they predicted a small price increase to take effect tomorrow.