Oil Prices Fluctuate Ahead of Inventory Numbers

As of 8:51 am EDT, the price of crude had risen by 0.3 percent to reach $71.64 a barrel and the price of heating oil had fallen by 0.2 percent.

HEAT USA Price Report

Today’s average retail heating oil price per gallon: Up $0.01
Morning projection (for Wednesday’s average price per gallon): Up $0.01

Falling stock markets in Europe weighed on oil prices, but a weak dollar and expectations that oil inventories fell last week pushed crude oil to recover. Heating oil futures, which outperformed crude oil futures on Monday, remained in negative territory. Europe’s debt problems continue to threaten that continent’s economic recovery, which could prevent any growth in fuel demand. Worries about Europe have been offset in oil markets by tentative optimism about oil demand in the US, especially now that driving season has begun. Signs of growing gasoline demand could be enough to push up prices not only of gasoline but crude oil and heating oil as well.

HEAT USA price experts report that optimism alone may be enough to lift oil prices on Tuesday, since no inventory report will be released until after the close of trading. The API will release its figures on Tuesday afternoon, followed on Wednesday by the EIA, and markets could be volatile because oil traders appear poised to react strongly to the release of inventory data.