Heating oil steady in Asian trading

7 December 2009

Heating oil prices posted fractional gains this morning (December 7th) despite a fall in crude prices.

In electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the January-delivery heating oil futures contract, held firm around $2.027 (€1.37) a gallon, while crude oil prices fell marginally.

Both commodities registered a strong end to the week on Friday after official employment data calmed fears about the health of the US economy.

Although analysts had predicted as many as 125,000 job losses in November, official statistics showed a contraction in the job market of 11,000 during the month.

While the figures inspired confidence in a US recovery, figures published by the Energy Information Administration earlier in the week were a reminder that demand for fuels such as crude and gasoline remains subdued.

Stocks of both fuels were found to have risen in the previous week, while heating oil and propane inventories were down as a result of heightened seasonal demand for the fuels.

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