Fuel Oil Retreats to Below $3 Per Gallon
The tumultuous situation in Ukraine has oil prices rising, but Libya export hopes kept the price below $101.
U.S. crude for June delivery rose 24 cents to close at $100.84 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, an international benchmark used to price oil used by many U.S. refineries, fell $1.46, or 1.3 percent, to close at $108.12 in London.
Ukraine is going through its biggest political crisis since the fall of the Soviet Union, sparked by months of anti-government protests and President Viktor Yanukovych’s flight to Russia.
The major exports of Russian gas are questionable for the foreseeable future as sanctions continue to ramp up.
News from Libya, however, kept prices in check. The country will soon resume exports from a 70,000 barrel-per-day terminal that had been occupied by rebels. Libya has struggled to deliver steady oil exports in the three years since the ouster of former leader Moammar Gadhafi. Libya’s exports are around 220,000 barrels a day, far down from 1.4 million barrels a day a year ago.
In other energy futures trading in New York:
Wholesale gasoline fell 4 cents to close at $2.986 a gallon.
Heating oil fell 3.6 cents to close at $2.945 a gallon.
Natural gas rose 14 cents to close at $4.79 per 1,000 cubic feet.