Oil Prices Split Ahead of Inventory Report

As of 9:02 am EST, the price of crude had fallen by .24 percent to reach $77.37 a barrel and the price of heating oil had risen by .16 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 $0.02

Crude and heating oil prices split but remained little changed on Tuesday morning. The price of crude has declined ahead of tomorrow’s EIA inventory report, which is expected to show a crude buildup of 1.6 million barrels. Distillate supplies may have dropped approximately 100,000 barrels, though that does little to cut into the more than 167 million barrels of distillates currently in inventory. Nevertheless, that predicted drawdown has given heating oil prices a modest bump, and the weak dollar has limited crude’s losses.

HEAT USA price experts report that there will be little today that could alter the bleak picture of oil market fundamentals, but investors look to US economic data—especially November’s consumer confidence numbers, which will come out this afternoon—for signs of recovery by the world’s largest energy consumer.