Heating Oil Up Slightly, Crude Oil Down as Losing Year Comes to an End

The price of crude fell 2.5% this morning to $38.14 a barrel while the price of heating oil gained two-tenths of a percent as of 9:51 am eastern time on the last day of the 2008 calendar year.  Investors looking back at the last year on the oil market had reason for pessimism, as the price of crude lost 60% following its all-time high of $147 a barrel in early July.  A struggling world economy and receding demand levels in the U.S., Japan and Europe continued to heavily influence the market.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly data are due out in the next hour, and most analysts are predicting a drop in crude stockpiles in contrast to increases in gasoline and distillate stockpiles.

HEAT USA price experts announced a small increase in retail prices today, despite yesterday’s decreases in crude and heating oil prices on the commodities market.  They speculated that the price increase could stem from increased heating oil demand as a result of a new spate of cold weather settling into the Northeast.

HEAT USA Price Report
Today’s average retail heating oil price per gallon: UP $0.01
Morning projection (for Thursday-Friday’s average price per gallon): UP $0.02