Crude oil prices continued to slump with Brent and West Texas Intermediate down, as increasing storage inventories and jitters over a ramp-up in Iranian exports kept the market on edge.
The New York Mercantile Exchange April crude oil contract fell 42¢ on Mar. 17 to $43.46/bbl. The May contract fell 94¢ to settle at $45.19/bbl.
The natural gas contract for April dropped 13.9¢ to a rounded $2.86/MMbtu. The Henry Hub, La., gas price was $2.79/MMbtu, up 13¢.
Heating oil for April delivery declined about half a cent to a rounded $1.69/gal. Reformulated gasoline stock for oxygenate blending for April was virtually unchanged at a rounded $1.73/gal.
The May ICE contract for Brent crude oil lost 43¢, settling at $53.51/bbl. The June contract lost 41¢ to $54.56/bbl. The ICE gas oil contract for April dropped 75¢ to $509/tonne.
The average price for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ basket of 12 benchmark crudes on Mar. 17 was $48.76/bbl, a 70¢ decline.