Heating Oil Price Trend for February 4: -1¢
(image: Stephen Chernin via Getty Images and Nicholas Whitaker via heatingoil.com)
Rising inventories of crude oil dragged down crude and heating oil prices yesterday, reversing the oil rally of Monday and Tuesday. According to the EIA, stockpiles of crude grew by 2.3 million barrels, much more than was expected. Though inventories of distillates, which include heating oil and diesel, fell by 1 million barrels, many analysts had expected that the growing US manufacturing sector would cause a much steeper drop in distillates. The EIA’s inventory numbers showed that demand for oil remained weak, despite signs of recovery in the US economy, and oil prices fell as a consequence.
Today’s average retail heating oil price in the Northeast is 1 cent lower than Wednesday’s average price.
