Oil steady at $35

16/01/2009

Oil prices have remained little changed during trading this morning (January 16th) and are hovering around $35 (£23) a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

During trading overnight, the commodity shed more than $5 dollars as demand concerns persisted.

By 09:35 GMT, the headline contract - light, sweet crude for February delivery - had lost a further 15 cents.

The stabilising price has been attributed to the Democrats' publication of a $825 billion bailout p...

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Heating oil stable with crude

16/01/2009

Heating oil prices have remained virtually unchanged this morning as New York's crude contract levels out at around $35 (£23) a barrel.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, heating oil for February delivery stood at $1.4825 a gallon by 09:48 GMT, down a fraction of a cent.

Steady trading today has staved off further ...

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Energy investment 'requires high oil price'

15/01/2009

A high oil price is needed if investment in alternative energy sources is to be maintained, Saudi Arabia's oil minister has warned.

Speaking to attendees at energy conference in New Delhi, Ali Al Naimi lamented the dramatic decline in crude prices, with the commodity losing 70 per cent of its value in the last six months.

The decline in crude also resulted in a concomitant fall in heating oil prices<...

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Oil falls further as global economies tank

15/01/2009

The price of crude dropped another dollar during early trading today (January 15th) as investors drew caution from the poor performance of global stock markets yesterday.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude for February reached a mid-morning low of $36.13 (£24.73) a barrel, more than a dollar down on its opening price.

The seventh consecutive day of price slides comes as stock markets in the UK, US and Asia took a pounding yesterday amid job cut announc...

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Heating oil gains despite crude plunge

15/01/2009

Wholesale heating oil prices have increased marginally during trading this morning, (January 15th) despite the continued slide of crude prices.

The New York Mercantile Exchange's main contract, heating oil for February delivery, had climbed to $1.477 (£1.01) a gallon by 10:18 GMT, up two cents on its opening price.

S...

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EIA downsizes demand forecast for 2009

14/01/2009

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) has again lowered its projections for demand for oil in response to the pervading economic headwinds.

In its first short-term energy outlook of 2009, the group said that demand for heating oil, DERV, farm diesel and other such derivatives will fall across all sectors as the US economy shrinks by an ex...

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$70 'the right price' for oil

14/01/2009

The Qatari oil minister has said that an oil price of around $70 (£48) is needed to ensure the industry continues to invest in new exploration opportunities.

Speaking to Reuters at a recent petroleum conference, Abdullah al-Attiyah commented: "$70 will be an incentive to companies and oil producers to keep investing. Oil prices over $100 are not logical. I also don't appreciate low oil prices."

The cost of a range of distillates including read more

Crude slides for sixth day

13/01/2009

Crude oil prices have fallen for a sixth consecutive day as the commodity dropped below $37 (£25) a barrel during trade in the US this morning (January 13th).

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the commodity reached a low of $36.10 a barrel amid persistently weak economic data which continues to dampen demand for crude.

Meanwhile, Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research, in Winchester, Massachusetts, told Bloomberg that the Organisation of th...

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Heating oil buoyant as crude plummets

13/01/2009

Heating oil prices have remained little changed during trading this morning (January 13th), despite dramatic falls in the cost of crude.

The New York Mercantile Exchange's main contract, heating oil for February delivery, fell fractionally during early transactions and stood at $1.47 (£1) a gallon by 10:20 GMT.

Howev...

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Russia-Ukraine deal 'needs oil link'

13/01/2009

Russia and Ukraine need to enter into a new gas contract that is linked to global oil prices in order to avoid a repeat of the current European energy crisis in the coming years, analysts have claimed.

Speaking to Reuters, Dieter Helm, professor of energy policy at the University of Oxford, warned: "There has to date been little incentive to come to an amicable long-term relationship with Ukraine, so this is going to happen again and again."

He added that Russia is su...

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