Crude prices flat after early retreat

18 June 2010

Written by Bob Burton

Crude oil prices were little changed on the New York Mercantile Exchange as European markets opened this morning (June 18th), with the commodity recovering from early losses to trade around $76.60 (£51.53) a barrel, down 19 cents.

Heating oil prices were trading within a fraction of a cent of yesterday's settle price of $2.1474 as European markets opened, with both currencies flat after disappointing US data.

Unemployment figures rose unexpectedly while factory output figures also suggested a slump in the sector.

Toby Hassall, a research analyst at CWA Global Markets, told Bloomberg that weak US fuel demand figures were also putting pressure on oil prices.

"The US is still the largest consumer of petroleum, so a lack of recovery in fuel demand there will have an impact on the oil market," he said.

Reports from the American Petroleum Institute and the Energy Information Administration both showed unexpected rises in gasoline inventories last week.