Heating oil down on demand concerns, Greek crisis

27 April 2010

Written by Kim Bardsley

Heating oil prices moved lower on the New York Mercantile Exchange this morning (April 27th), extending losses seen yesterday amid concerns about demand and the growing debt crisis in Greece.

A Reuters poll conducted ahead of the latest Energy Information Administration report showed that analysts expect inventories to have risen across the board last week, signalling further weakness in demand for crude, gasoline and distillates including heating oil.

Ben Westmore, a commodities analyst at National Australia Bank, said that a stronger dollar was also weighing on prices this morning.

"A lot of the weakness has to do with Greece and the strengthening dollar, but the more concerning thing is the supply situation in the US. It's a supply side phenomenon," he commented.

By 02:43 Central Standard Time, the May-delivery heating oil contract was trading at $2.227 (€1.66) a gallon, down a fraction of a cent on yesterday's settle price.

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