Crude, heating oil prices decline

Crude oil prices were down again at midday on Thursday in New York as weather forecasters said that the Northeast United States will return to warmer weather next week. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that temperatures in the region, which uses 80 percent of the heating oil consumer in the US, will record higher than average temperatures after recent cold, snowy weather.

March contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 74 cents to $57.26 in midday trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The decline comes after a decline of over $1 on Wednesday after reports that distillate stockpiles were now down as much as had been expected. Heating oil prices also declined, with Nymex futures down 1.5 cents to $1.6231 per gallon.

Also on Thursday, the Energy Information Administration reported that natural gas stockpiles had dropped by 259 billion cubic feet last week. While the decline was substantial, inventories are still above average for the time of year. Natural gas prices were 4.1 cents lower at midday to $7.20 per 1,000 cubic feet.