Oil down for second day after EIA report

25 March 2010

Written by Bob Burton

Crude oil prices dipped on the New York Mercantile Exchange for a second consecutive day this morning (March 25th) and were holding above $80 (£53.60) as European markets, recovering partially from early losses.

The downward momentum followed the latest inventory report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), which showed a 7.25 million-barrel build in crude stocks last week.

The figures corroborated a similarly gloomy demand report from the American Petroleum Institute which sent crude and heating oil lower yesterday.

Commenting on the figures, Toby Hassall, research analyst at CWA Global Markets in Sydney, said: "The US looks like it's facing a very slow and uneven recovery. US oil demand has struggled to improve after the contraction caused by the downturn."

Although the EIA figures created a bearish sentiment on trading floors, price falls were moderated by a drawdown in both gasoline and distillate stocks.

Inventory levels for the latter category, which includes heating oil, decreased by 2.4 million barrels last week, the report showed.

Click here for a home heating oil quote