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Oil prices settle lower on demand worries
Source: Agencies |
April 13, 2010, Tuesday
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CRUDE prices fell slightly yesterday as traders continued to assess a slow economic recovery and the strength of U.S. oil and gas demand.
Benchmark crude for May delivery lost 58 cents to settle at US$84.34 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier prices extended to US$85.44.
Crude shot to an 18-month high above US$87 last week from US$69 in early February on optimism that oil demand would grow with a recovering global economy. But U.S. petroleum consumption remains weak.
Motorists face rising gasoline prices as crude prices climb and analysts predict rising demand in the summer months.
Energy analyst Stephen Schork said yesterday that another factor is also at play. He said that a rising supply of expensive crude oil imports from countries like Russia, and a decline in imports from cheaper suppliers such as Venezuela, contributes to higher prices at the pump.
"That US$3 barrier looks like a foregone conclusion in the U.S.," he said, referring to analysts' expectations for US$3 a gallon (79 cents a liter) summer pump prices.
Crude prices also have moved in the same general direction as stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average continued its march past 11,000 yesterday, rising about 28 points at midday.
In other Nymex trading in May contracts, heating oil lost 0.7 cent to settle at US$2.2189 a gallon, and gasoline picked up 0.65 cent to settle at US$2.2958 a gallon. Natural gas fell 6.2 cents to settle at US$4.008 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude fell 6 cents to settle at US$84.77 on the ICE futures exchange.
Benchmark crude for May delivery lost 58 cents to settle at US$84.34 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier prices extended to US$85.44.
Crude shot to an 18-month high above US$87 last week from US$69 in early February on optimism that oil demand would grow with a recovering global economy. But U.S. petroleum consumption remains weak.
Motorists face rising gasoline prices as crude prices climb and analysts predict rising demand in the summer months.
Energy analyst Stephen Schork said yesterday that another factor is also at play. He said that a rising supply of expensive crude oil imports from countries like Russia, and a decline in imports from cheaper suppliers such as Venezuela, contributes to higher prices at the pump.
"That US$3 barrier looks like a foregone conclusion in the U.S.," he said, referring to analysts' expectations for US$3 a gallon (79 cents a liter) summer pump prices.
Crude prices also have moved in the same general direction as stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average continued its march past 11,000 yesterday, rising about 28 points at midday.
In other Nymex trading in May contracts, heating oil lost 0.7 cent to settle at US$2.2189 a gallon, and gasoline picked up 0.65 cent to settle at US$2.2958 a gallon. Natural gas fell 6.2 cents to settle at US$4.008 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude fell 6 cents to settle at US$84.77 on the ICE futures exchange.
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