Heating oil prices move lower

25 January 2010

Written by Neil Brunskill

Wholesale heating oil prices retreated further during the electronic trading session of the New York Mercantile Exchange this morning (January 25th).

As the European markets opened, the February-delivery heating oil contract was trading fractionally below its opening price of $1.9416 (£1.20) a gallon, recovering from earlier losses.

The contract dropped dramatically on the final day of trading last week, mimicking losses in crude seen as concerns about the pace of global economic recovery resurfaced.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Toby Hassall, chief commodities analyst at CWA in Sydney, said that after the easing of the December cold snap, oil traders are focusing more closely on macroeconomic conditions.

"We've seen some encouraging signs and the US certainly is looking a lot better than it was 12 months ago, but that's a different thing to a material recovery," he told the news provider, adding that China's recent decision to rein in commercial lending had highlighted the fragility of recovery.

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