Crude Oil Rises as Cold Weather Boosts Demand for Heating Fuels
London, Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose 2 percent,
approaching a nine-year high, as forecasts for a cold snap in
Europe raised expectations for higher use of heating fuels.
``Cold weather looks to be holding up the crude market for
now,' said Kevin Blemkin, a broker with Cannon Bridge Corp. Ltd.
Crude oil for January settlement rose as much as 49 cents to
$24.85 a barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange in
London. December gasoil, a group of fuels that includes heating
oil, was 50 cents higher at $210.75 a ton after trading as low as
$206, down $4.25 from yesterday's close.
During the next five days, temperatures in northern Europe
are expected to drop as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit below
normal, forecasters at Lexington, Massachusetts-based Weather
Services Corp. said.
Crude oil for December delivery on the New York Mercantile
Exchange, which expires today, was 40 cents higher at $26.20 in
electronic trading. December heating oil jumped as much as 2.8
percent, or 1.89 cents, to 68.4 cents a gallon on the Nymex.
Forecasts for cold weather are more than offsetting Amerada
Hess Corp. plans to restart its St. Croix refinery in the U.S.
Virgin Islands, the second-biggest processor in the Western
Hemisphere. The factory sustained only minor damage from
Hurricane Lenny and will resume full operations this weekend.
Concern about damage to the 525,000 barrel-a-day St. Croix
refinery helped oil surge to its highest level since January 1991
earlier this week.
Oil prices reached a 12-year low in December though have
since doubled after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries, plus four other nations, slashed world supplies by
about 7 percent in April from February 1998 levels. That's
forcing refiners to use up stored fuel.
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