Crude Oil Slides, Product Prices Mixed
August 9, 2005
The price of a barrel of high-quality crude oil fell Tuesday from an intra-day high of $64.27 per barrel to $63.66 in New York trading.
The move reflected traders’ assessment that security fears in Saudi Arabia did not warrant setting nominal records for the world’s most heavily traded commodity. Those fears have prompted U.S. officials to close their consulates and embassy in the kingdom.
A comparable crude also slipped on London’s International Petroleum Exchange to $62.35 per barrel.
Product prices were mixed on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gasoline fell nearly 2 cents to $1.8399 per gallon, but heating oil rose slightly to $1.7904 per gallon.
Natural gas declined to $8.60 per million Btu.