Heating oil prices follow crude down

21 October 2009

Wholesale heating oil prices were down in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange this morning (October 21st), mimicking losses seen in crude futures.

Both commodities weakened after a round of profit taking in Asia which curtailed the rally seen in stocks and shares and high-yield currencies such as the New Zealand and Canadian dollars.

This in turn allowed the US dollar, a low-risk, low-yield currency, to strengthen, making dollar-based assets such as crude oil and heating oil less attractive to investors.

However, price drops would need to be sustained for consumers to see an impact on domestic heating oil prices, as end-user prices are calculated on a longer-term basis.

Speaking to Reuters about the drop in crude prices, David Moore, a commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank in Sydney, said further downward movements are likely.

"There is plenty of oil around at the moment and the current price is associated with tight supply, so I am a little bearish and I suspect it will adjust lower," he said.

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