Afternoon Price Check, June 24: Oil Prices Fluctuate on Mixed Economic News
Oil prices ended little changed on Thursday, with heating oil prices dropping and crude oil just slightly up. (image: ft.com)
Conflicting signals on the pace of US economic recovery made for choppy trading in the oil markets and led crude oil prices and heating oil prices to diverge on Thursday. The price of heating oil fell as high inventories and the Federal Reserve’s pessimistic assessment of the economy pointed to weak oil demand. The price of crude edged up slightly, though, helped in part by reports that new jobless claims dropped last week and durable goods orders rose in May.
Today’s closing prices on the NYMEX
Crude oil (August 2010 contract): Up 0.1 percent, $76.45 per barrel.
Heating oil (July 2010 contract): Down 0.5 percent.
