Crude drops

Prices slip due to demand concerns from China

Crude prices ended lower on Friday, 19 November 2010 at Nymex. Prices fell following news that China's central increased the reserve requirement for its banks by 50 basis points for the second time in as many weeks. The announcement was not that surprising since speculation has been building that China might tighten policy to fend off inflation. Still, there was concern that tighter policy could slow growth.



On Friday, crude oil futures for light sweet crude for December delivery closed lower by $0.44 (0.5%) at $81.98/barrel. For the week, crude lost 4%.

For the month of October, crude ended higher by 1.8%. In September, crude prices ended higher by 11.2%. For the third quarter, crude ended higher by 5.7%. Crude had ended second quarter of CY 2010 lower by 9.3%. For the first quarter of this year, crude rose by 5.5%. Year to date, crude is higher by 4.1%.

Among other energy products on Friday, gasoline for December delivery retreated 3 cents, or 1.5%, to $2.20 a gallon. Gasoline lost 0.5% on the week. December heating oil settled down 2 cents to $2.27 a gallon, amassing a 3.8% decrease for the week.

Also on Friday, December natural-gas contract rose 16 cents to $4.16 per million British thermal units. On the week, the fuel vaulted 9.5% after two consecutive weeks of losses.

Crude ended FY 2009 higher by 78%, the highest yearly gain since 1999. It reached a high of $82 earlier in October 2009 and hit a low of $33.98 on 12 February 2009. Crude prices had ended FY 2008 lower by 54%, the largest yearly loss since trading began at Nymex.