Commodity Daily News

Crude Oil Prices Continue Plummet after Natural Gas Storage Report

Oil prices dropped sharply again yesterday with the New York Mercantile Exchange session closing just below the $98 price mark. US oil stockpiles rose over 3 million barrels for the second week in a row, marking a significant uptick in American hoarding behavior. Yesterday's natural gas storage report also showed an above-expected level of stockpiling. An additional 70 billion cubic feet was added to US gas inventories this past week, higher than the forecast 69 billion cubic feet.

The value of the US dollar versus the euro in recent trading has pushed towards a four-week high near 1.4190, oil prices failed to find support as a result. With yesterday's sharp downtick during the later sessions, and this morning's continuation of that movement, traders appear likely to see oil reaching a bit lower as this week comes to an end - though a return to riskier assets could lift oil prices one more time if the market deems it worthy.