Crude oil tops $98

Posted on Sep 13, 2012 in Business | 0 comments

Crude oil prices topped $98 per barrel Thursday, although price movement was subdued after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced a third round of printing money.

The Fed said it would spend $85 billion per month through the end of the year on bonds and mortgage-backed securities, a step known as quantitative easing or printing money.

The program has the effect of diluting the value of the dollar, which makes commodities priced in U.S. currency more appealing overseas.

Price movement has been low-key for the week, but traders Thursday morning revealed a perceptible itch, as West Texas Intermediate crude oil for October delivery jumped early.

By close of trading, WTI crude had turned back down, dropping 24 cents to $98.07 per barrel.

Natural gas shed 1 cent to $3.027 per million British thermal units.

Home heating oil lost 0.49 cents to $3.2064 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline added 0.19 cents to $2.9641 per gallon.

At the pump, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.869 per gallon, up from Wednesday”s $3.858, AAA reported.

Copyright 2012 by United Press International