Oil slips towards $68 as rally stalls

9 June 2009

Crude oil prices fell slightly on Monday as a weak day on the stock markets and a firming of the US dollar brought a halt to the recent price rally.

US crude for July delivery settled at $68.09 (£42) a barrel, down 35 cents from Friday, while London Brent crude fell 46 cents to close the day's trading at $67.88 a barrel.

The losses came as the dollar strengthened against a basket of five other currencies, extending gains made last Friday and making oil more expensive to non-US traders.

While the dip in prices may be good news for home heating oil customers, who have seen values more than double since the turn of the year on hopes that the recession is beginning to ease, residents may wish to stock up on supplies of the fuel now rather than await any further cost drops.

According to JP Morgan, crude prices are now expected to average $65 a barrel during the fourth quarter of 2009 due to the improving economic climate, higher than their $55 forecast published in May.

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