Crude prices crawl up

Prices break three-day losing streak as the European Union imposes an import ban on Iranian oil

Crude prices ended higher on Monday, 23 January 2012 at Nymex. Prices rose due to a low dollar and as European Union put an import ban on oil from Iran. Supply concerns took prices up.

Light and sweet crude for March delivery rose $1.25 (1.3%) to $99.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday. Prices dropped 0.2% last week.



In the currency market on Monday, the Dollar Index, which weighs the strength of dollar against basket of six other currencies fell by almost 0.5%.

Earlier Monday, Europe imposed an oil embargo against Iran and froze assets of its central bank in an effort to get the Iranian authorities to scale back its nuclear program. Iranian authorities have threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane for the oil trade, and disrupt oil supplies in retaliation against the ban. The embargo also includes a block in all gold trading and other precious metals as well as diamonds.

Among other energy products on Monday, February gasoline ended down 1 cent, or 0.2%, at $2.78 per gallon. February heating oil added 2 cents, or 0.7%, to $3.01 a gallon.

Natural gas kept trading higher after a string of losses took prices to their lowest in nearly a decade. February natural gas settled 18 cents higher, 7.8%, to $2.53 per million British thermal units.

At the MCX, crude oil for February delivery closed higher by Rs 41 (0.82%) at Rs 5,020/barrel. Natural gas for February delivery closed at Rs 129.2, higher by Rs 6.7 (5.5%).