Heating oil tracks crude up

9 April 2010

Written by John King

Heating oil prices rose on the New York Mercantile Exchange this morning (April 9th), recovering from mid-week losses spurred by continuing demand weakness.

As European markets opened, the commodity had climbed to $2.2507 (€1.6790) a gallon, up more than 2.2 cents on yesterday's settle price.

Crude was also in recovery mode and had pushed back above the $86-a-barrel mark during the Asian trading session.

The rally came as positive retail sales data emerged in the US, while speculation that the Chinese yuan may be revalued also supported crude prices.

As dollar-denominated commodities, crude and heating oil may gain from a revaluation as a stronger yuan will make it cheaper for China to import oil, explained Clarence Chu, an energy trader at Hudson Capital Energy in Singapore, speaking to Reuters.

"In the short term, it could be bullish," he declared, adding that crude should be able to hold above the $85 mark and may push $87 a barrel.

Click here for a home heating oil quote