By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Oct. 2 -- Oil futures prices dipped Monday despite speculation that this winter might be colder than normal.
The November contract for benchmark US light, sweet crudes dropped 15¢ to $23.28/bbl on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while the December contract was down 12¢ to $23.56/bbl. Both continued to slide in after-hours electronic trading to $23.10/bbl and $23.35/bbl, respectively.
Home heating oil for November delivery lost 1¢ to 65.99¢/gal. Unleaded gasoline for the same month gained 0.77¢ to 65.26¢/gal. The November natural gas contract fell 3.6¢ to $2.21/Mcf on the NYMEX.
In London, futures prices for North Sea Brent crude continued to drift lower. The November Brent contract lost 37¢ to $22.89/bbl Monday on the International Petroleum Exchange. The November natural gas contract inched up 0.45¢ to the equivalent of $3.44/Mcf on the IPE.
The average price for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' basket of seven crudes dropped 55¢ to $20.44/bbl Monday.