Oil Prices Down on Stockpile Increase

Crude oil succumbed to the force of a increase in inventory numbers that was more than twice the expected amount and fell slightly today, losing 1.1% to settle at $40.32 a barrel on NYMEX.  Heating oil unaffected by unsurprising inventory data, remained flat.  The U.S. Department of Energy announced that the new stockpile numbers were 15% higher than the five-year average for the last week in January, according to Bloomberg.com.

Weak demand and huge supplies continued to hold down oil prices today, just as diligent output cuts by OPEC continued to support prices.  Shorki Ghanem, top oil official for OPEC member state Libya, noted today that prices are “firming up” thanks to the cartel’s production cuts, and said that further cuts may not be necessary.

HEAT USA price experts were pleased to see retail heating oil prices hold steady following a large drop-off on Monday and small increase yesterday.

HEAT USA Price Report
Evening projection (for Thursday’s average retail heating oil price per gallon): NO CHANGE