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Oil rises for 4th straight day
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The price of oil rose for the fourth day in a row yesterday, to above US$97 per barrel, as an ongoing cold spell in parts of the US boosted demand for heating oil.
US crude for March delivery rose 59 cents to close at US$97.32 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oil used by many US refineries, fell 69 cents to close at US$107.58 in London.
Natural gas futures rose again, adding 4 cents to close at US$4.73 per 1,000 cubic feet (28.32 cubic meters), as temperatures in many parts of the US Northeast remained frigid and forecasts called for continued cold over the next week, boosting anticipated heating demand. Natural gas futures are up 18 percent over the past two weeks, to their highest level since July of 2011.
The deep chill blanketing much of the central and eastern US is also reducing stocks of heating oil as homeowners crank up the thermostat and electric utilities burn it to avoid paying for natural gas. Natural gas has skyrocketed to record prices of more than US$100 per 1,000 cubic feet on the spot market in some regions.
That, in turn is leading to higher crude prices as traders anticipate that refineries will need to process more crude to meet heating oil demand.
"The weather factor is becoming an increasingly important driver," wrote energy analyst Jim Ritterbusch in a report Thursday.
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