Heating oil prices jump on supply concerns

9 November 2009

Heating oil prices jumped in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange this morning (November 9th) after BP and Chevron confirmed they had cut production in the Gulf of Mexico as Hurricane Ida moved through the region.

By 02:44 Eastern Time, the December-delivery heating oil contract was trading at $2.036 (€1.36) a gallon, up 3.35 cents on last week's settle price.

In a research note seen by Reuters, Australia & New Zealand Bank reflected on the likely effects of the storm.

"Reports of tropical storms potentially impacting operations in the Gulf of Mexico would be supportive in the near term, but investors generally focus on economic and inventory data for direction," the bank predicted.

A weaker dollar also helped promote buying activity during the Asian session, as dollar-based commodities such as crude and heating oil become more attractive to foreign buyers when the greenback falls against competing currencies such as the yen and the euro.

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