Heating Oil Price Trend for February 19: +4¢
(image: newsimg.bbc.co.uk and Nicholas Whitaker via heatingoil.com)
Inventory numbers and a weak dollar combined to drive up the price of crude and heating oil on Thursday. The EIA’s inventory data was somewhat mixed, with crude oil stockpiles rising by 3.1 million barrels, but oil markets took more notice of the drop in distillate supplies. Distillates, which include heating oil and diesel, fell by 2.9 million barrels, roughly twice as much as what was expected. A weak dollar—weighed down by news that new jobless claims had risen last week—helped traders see the upside to oil prices, since a weak dollar makes dollar-priced commodities, such as heating oil and crude oil, cheaper for investors.
Today’s average retail heating oil price in the Northeast is 4 cents higher than Thursday’s average price.
Traders’ Error in Elementary Geography Pushed Up Oil Prices in February | HeatingOil.com says: says:
[...] On February 19, the retail price of heating oil increased by an average of 4 cents per gallon as a result of the previous day’s rise in crude prices. Although we didn’t know it at the time, it appears that the coup in Niger had a lot to do with [...]