Oil rose for the first time in four days as the U.S. mid-Atlantic region braced for a new winter storm in coming days and dug out from a weekend blizzard. Oil rebounded from a seven week low after the National Weather Service issued storm warnings from Utah to New Jersey and advisories for below-normal temperatures in the East that would increase demand for heating fuel. The weekend storm left almost 40 inches of snow in some places and shut government offices today in Washington.
“The cold weather is persisting here, and it’s not relenting,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Round Earth Capital, a New York based hedge fund that focuses on food and energy commodities. Oil prices also advanced amid technical support at the 200 day moving average of $70.72, he said. Crude oil for March delivery rose 85 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $72.04 a barrel at 11:02 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil settled at $71.19 on Feb. 5, the lowest price since Dec. 15. Futures have gained 79 percent in the past year.
The National Weather Service is forecasting temperatures will be below normal for the next six to 10 days along the Eastern Coast, from Florida to Maine. “A very wintry and unseasonably cold week remains on tap from the southern plains and Midwest to the Northeast and mid-Atlantic,” said Jim Rouiller, a senior energy meteorologist at private forecaster Planalytics Inc., in Wayne, Pennsylvania. The new storm may reach “crippling proportions from Washington and Philadelphia to New York City and possibly Boston by Wednesday”....Read the entire article.
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