Heating oil sinks amid economic gloom

7 June 2010

Written by Kim Bardsley

Heating oil prices were slipping on the New York Mercantile Exchange this morning (July 7th), under pressure amid bearish trading conditions.

During the Asian trading session, both heating oil and crude were down following sharp falls in regional share prices, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index down 3.3 per cent.

Concomitantly, crude futures registered falls of as much as 2.8 per cent, although the commodity strengthened later in the session.

Heating oil prices fell as far as $1.9230 a gallon, down more than three cents, while near-term crude futures briefly dipped below the $70-a-barrel mark.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Ben Westmore, a minerals and energy economist at NAB, said prospects for oil commodities remain weak.

"We expect the volatility to be around for a while as the euro concerns continue to pervade markets. On the ground in the US, the demand and supply story is still pretty weak," he told the news provider.