Crude prices follow equities markets higher

Crude oil prices were higher again Thursday as equities markets saw gains on a denial from China that it is reevaluating its holdings of Eurozone government bonds and after the US dollar weakened versus the euro, making oil less expensive for investors making purchases in the shared currency.

July contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were up $2.79 to $74.30 per barrel in early afternoon trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude was last up $2.84 to $74.58 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Also adding to optimism was a report that BP’s (LSE: BP) efforts to cap a leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico seem to be working.

The US Energy Information Administration reported that natural gas inventories in the United States were up 104 billion cubic feet last week, slightly above expected gains of 98 to 102 billion cubic feet, bringing US natural gas stockpiles to 2.269 trillion cubic feet, 3.2 percent over last year’s levels and 16.3 percent above the five-year average.

Nymex July natural gas futures were nonetheless up 9 cents to $4.27 per million British thermal units in afternoon trade in New York, while June gasoline futures had added 7 cents to $2.04 per gallon and June heating oil futures were 8 cents higher to $2 per gallon.

The retail price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the United States was slightly lower overnight to $2.759 per gallon on average nationally, according to AAA, while the average price for a gallon of mid-grade gasoline fell to $2.929 per gallon, a gallon of premium-grade gasoline was down to $3.035 per gallon on average, and the price of diesel fuel averaged $3.024 per gallon.