Heating oil pares gains on Nymex

16/07/2009

Heating oil prices were turning back on gains seen yesterday (July 15th) during electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) this morning.

At 06:20 Eastern Time, the August delivery heating oil contract was trading at $1.5612 (95p) per gallon, down 2.09 cents on yesterday's settle price.

On Wednesday, the commodity surged more than seven cents, mimicking upward movements in crude futures.

Speaking to Reuters, Victor Shum, a senior analyst at Purvin & Gertz, said that commodities have been supported by the announcement that China outstripped expectations with gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 7.9 per cent in the second quarter.

However, he added: "Sentiment is still cautious and investors are also somewhat skeptical of an economic recovery anytime soon, particularly in the US where unemployment is still very high."

The rise in GDP was broadly attributed to the Chinese government's fiscal stimulus package introduced earlier this year, while heightened domestic growth also offset the slump in export demand.