Heating oil extends gains in NY

20/07/2009

Heating oil prices climbed rapidly in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) this morning (July 20th), mimicking gains made by crude and extending Friday's rally.

The August delivery heating oil contract surged at the opening of trading this week, hitting $1.6735 (99p) a gallon by 05:52 Eastern Time, up 3.25 cents on Friday's closing price.

Heating oil contracts enjoyed a strong end to the week, closing up more than four cents on Thursday's settle price.

Today's gains came as crude futures moved upwards sharply, rising on a strong performance from equities on key bourses in Asia.

Speaking to Reuters, Ben Westmore, a commodities analyst at the National Bank of Australia, explained: "Gains in the stock markets are lifting risk appetite, which is helping to push oil prices higher."

European stocks also rose in early trading, while the dollar was down as foreign exchange traders made a move into higher yielding currencies.