Heating oil dips, crude stabilises after EIA data

20/08/2009

Heating oil prices pared gains this morning (August 20th) as investors considered the implications of the latest demand data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

During electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange this morning, the September-delivery heating oil contract hit a low of $1.9065 (£1.153) a gallon and was trading at $1.9082 at 05:47 Eastern Time.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices were steady around the $72-a-barrel mark after data from the EIA yesterday sent the headline contract upwards to close up $3.23 on the barrel.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Hannes Loacker, an analyst at Raiffeisen Zentralbank Oesterreich, said that the 8.4 million-barrel drop in oil inventories - the largest seen in 15 months - was "totally bullish".

"And from a demand side things are also looking more positive," he added.

Mike Sander, an investment adviser with Sander Capital in Seattle, added that commodities traders had received a "shot of adrenaline" from the EIA figures.