Market watch: Energy futures weaken
HOUSTON, Feb. 13�Energy futures prices weakened in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange Monday.
The March contract for light, sweet crude fell 52� to $30.51/bbl, while the April contract stood at $30.21, down by 53�. In after-hours electronic access trading in New York, light, sweet crude was fetching $30.39/bbl for the March position and $30.12 for the April contract, both down from the NYMEX close.
Refined petroleum products also closed lower, with March home heating oil losing 2.16� to finish at 80.08�/gal, while unleaded gasoline for the same month slipped by 0.82� to settle at 89.29�/gal.
NYMEX natural gas for March delivery slumped by 38.9� to end at $5.82/Mcf.
Declining demand for petroleum products was a key factor in the market's fall.
A report by the International Energy Agency in Paris, estimating that demand would falter in the near future, was taken seriously by traders.
The US Energy Information Administration issued a similar forecast recently.
Declining demand and rising inventories are dampening the spirits of traders, who sold heavily during the session Monday.
Meanwhile, in London Monday, North Sea Brent crude oil futures closed lower on the International Petroleum Exchange. March Brent futures settled at $29/bbl, down by 25� from the previous close. The day's high was $29.39 and the low $28.75.
Brokers said the market was looking for fresh news to justify a breakout from the current $28.50-$29.50 range.
On the IPE, the March natural gas price settled at the equivalent of $3.74/Mcf, up 2�.
On the Singapore exchange, the March contract for Brent crude fell 25� to close at $29/bbl. The April contract lost 62� to close at $27.65/bbl.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' basket of seven crudes stood at $26.59/bbl Monday, compared with $26.98 the previous Friday.