Afternoon Price Check, March 10: Heating Oil Prices Rise as Distillate Inventories Drop
Crude oil prices over the course of today, March 10. (image: ft.com)
Inventory data showed surprising drawdowns in supplies of distillates, which include heating oil and diesel, and gasoline, and those findings led oil prices to overcome some tumultuous price changes and close higher for the day. Distillate supplies fell by 2.2 million barrels, more than double the expected 1-million-barrel decline, and gasoline inventories dropped by 2.9 million barrels. Falling inventories of refined oil products carried all oil commodities higher.
Today’s closing prices on NYMEX
Crude oil (April 2010 contract): Up 0.7 percent, $82.06 per barrel.
Heating oil (April 2010 contract): Up 1.3 percent.
At CERAWeek Conference, Oil and Gas Are the Future
Secretary of Energy Steven Chu speaking about the future of oil and gas at CERAWeek 2010. (image: chron.com)
Tuesday was “oil day” at the CERAWeek 2010 energy conference, sponsored by the energy research firm IHS CERA, and leading figures from the energy industry and from the Obama administration gathered to speak about the future of oil and gas. The dominant tone was one of confidence, as most speakers insisted that fossil fuels would remain the key energy sources far into the future, reported the Houston Chronicle.
While a positive assessment of the future of oil and gas might be expected from energy insiders, some of the oil and gas industry’s central claims about the continuing potential and relevance of fossil fuels were confirmed by Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. He talked about the promise of natural gas, which can be used for power generation and burns cleaner than coal, as a “bridge” fuel that can play a role in the “transition to other fuels” in the future. Oil, too, will retain its place in the energy mix, according to Chu: “Oil is an ideal transportation fuel, so it will be with us for decades.”
Kuwaiti Researchers Predict Peak Oil Production in 2014
A new study published in the journal Energy & Fuels predicts that world conventional oil production will hit its peak in the year 2014, GreenCarCongress.com reported on Wednesday. The study, undertaken by researchers at Kuwait University and Kuwait Oil Company, looked at oil production in the top 47 oil-producing nations and found that humanity [...]
Read More »OPEC President Vows to Fight Volatile Oil Prices
Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that another high-profile international figure has pledged to fight excessive oil speculation, which many believe contributes to volatile prices. OPEC President Germanico Pinto of Ecuador laid out what he sees as the negative impact of volatile prices on OPEC and the oil industry: “volatility produces difficulties in the markets and [...]
Read More »Heating Oil Price Trend for March 10: -2¢
The dollar’s gains against the euro paired with expectations that oil inventories would rise to push down oil prices on Tuesday. A strong dollar makes commodities priced in dollars, like crude oil and heating oil, more expensive for traders holding other currencies. The API’s inventory data came out after trading closed yesterday and showed that [...]
Read More »Heating Degree Day Report: March 10, 2010
KEY: Cumulative Heating Degree Days since March 1, 2010 for specified location / departure from average cumulative HDDs for today’s date.
Read More »ICPA Calls For Conservation Funding Over Heating Oil Assistance
Last week, the New Britain Herald published quotes from Gene Guilford, president of the Independent Connecticut Petroleum Association, proposing that the heating oil-focused nonprofit known as the Connecticut Fuel Oil Conservation Board is optimally positioned to implement the green job and home efficiency improvement initiatives awaiting Congress approval. The article is a rewritten version of [...]
Read More »Oil Traders Split on How Gasoline Demand Will Affect Oil Prices
As the heating season prepares to give way to the driving season, oil traders shift their focus from the market for distillates (including heating oil) to the market for gasoline. More people drive than heat their homes with oil, so crude oil futures tend to rally when gasoline demand picks up, as it usually does [...]
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