Commodities : Energy Futures Prices Fall
Energy futures prices stumbled into another steep decline again Monday with crude oil falling close to $11 a barrel.
“There’s just a general disillusion in the market,” said Richard Marose, an analyst in Chicago with Geldermann Inc.
The August delivery of West Texas Intermediate crude oil settled at $11.19, down 80 cents from the $11.99 close on Wednesday. New York futures markets were closed Thursday for the Liberty celebration, as well as July 4.
Most of Monday’s decline was catch-up with London prices, which slipped lower while the American markets were closed. The slump reflects the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ failure to limit production, as well as weakness in oil products, said Ed Dellamonte, an analyst in New York with Prudential-Bache Securities.
Most leaded gasoline and heating oil contracts plunged the 2 cents-a-gallon limit allowed for daily trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Adding to the general bearish mood, Marose said, was a report estimating that OPEC production is now more than 19.5 million barrels a day, “which is worse than expected and above the official ceiling of 16.5 million.”
