MARKET WATCH: Crude continues slump with WTI, Brent both down

March 18, 2015
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.

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.