Heating oil prices retreat in early trade

29 October 2009

Wholesale heating oil contracts trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange were down in electronic activity yesterday(October 28th), with the commodity mimicking losses seen in crude futures.

At 04:32 Eastern Time, the November-delivery heating oil contract was trading at $2.04 (£1.25), down 1.4 cents on yesterday's settle price.

Losses were also seen in crude futures after both commodities made a strong start to the week.

Tuesday's gains were attributed to the latest data from the American Petroleum Institute (API), which suggested that demand for crude and associated products such as heating oil, gasoline and diesel is rising in the US.

Speaking to Reuters, Ken Hasegawa, a commodity derivatives sales manager at broker Newedge in Tokyo, commented: "Crude rose on API's [crude inventories] decline but the gains were pared by profit-taking."

Consumers looking to protect themselves against potential hikes in the cost of domestic heating oil may wish to contact their supplier to discuss bulk buying.

Click here for a home heating oil quote.