Petroleum Prices Retreat

Petroleum prices retreated again Wednesday, with traders apparently apprehensive about the nation’s growing stock of gasoline. Crude oil opened firm at the New York Mercantile Exchange, as a result of American Petroleum Institute data released Tuesday showing a 9.3 million barrel decline in crude oil stocks, analysts said. By midday the market was turning around on continued long liquidation from Tuesday’s big selloff and other petroleum institute data showing gasoline stocks had increased by 2 million barrels.

“Traders were very optimistic on the crude numbers, but then they realized that there was so much less crude around because it was made into something else--gasoline,” said Richard Marose, an analyst in Chicago with Geldermann Inc. “The market is going through a period of great uncertainty,” he said, “but after the shakeout, it should stabilize around $16 to $20 a barrel. . . But it’s not going to go straight back up; it’s going to take some time.”

Another analyst, Peter Beutel of Rudolf Wolff Energy, said that after seven weeks of prices strengthening from under $10, some traders were beginning to question whether the oil market recovery had any steam left in it.