Oil Prices Fall for Fifth Straight Day

As of 8:55 am EST, the price of crude had declined by .81 percent to reach $78.75 a barrel and the price of heating oil had dropped by .96 percent.

HEAT USA Price Report

Today’s average retail heating oil price per gallon: Down $0.01
Morning projection (for Monday’s average price per gallon): Down $0.03

Oil prices continue to drop as the cold snap dissipates and oil supplies continue to build. Freezing temperatures in the US Northeast and Europe had driven up heating oil consumption in recent weeks, drawing down inventories and raising prices. Warming weather has removed one element supporting higher oil prices, and poor US retail sales figures diminished expectations that overall economic growth would lead to higher oil demand. As the weather ceased to be a factor pushing oil prices higher, investors looked to economic data, which was discouraging, and the movement of the dollar. The dollar rose against the euro this morning, which exerts downward pressure on all commodity prices. The CFTC’s announcement that it would seek position limits on commodity trading had little impact.

HEAT USA price experts report that temperatures are expected to stay mild for the next week, removing the key that drove oil prices higher in early January. Oil’s downward trend could be reversed by positive economic data, but the weather will continue to weigh on prices.