Oil Prices Sink as Dollar Hits Three-Month High

As of 8:51 am EST, the price of crude had fallen by .91 percent to reach $72.00 a barrel and the price of heating oil had dropped by .91 percent.

HEAT USA Price Report

Today’s average retail heating oil price per gallon: Up $0.07
Morning projection (for Friday’s average price per gallon): Down $0.03

Oil prices declined as the dollar reached a three-month high against the euro. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke’s optimistic comments about the US economy spurred confidence in the currency and in the prospects of economic recovery. The rising dollar made commodities priced in dollars, like crude and heating oil, more expensive for investors who hold other currencies. Thursday morning’s decline cut into some of oil’s gains on Wednesday, when drops in inventories caused the price of crude and heating oil to surge.

HEAT USA price experts report that the dollar’s newfound strength has reversed the trajectory of oil prices, and shows that yesterday’s decline in inventories—though dramatic—still left inventories near record highs that are more than enough to cover an uptick in demand.