Oil Hits 15-Month High Near $84
Oil prices rose to a 15-month high near $84 a barrel early Monday, boosted by cold weather kicking up demand for heating oil, Bloomberg reported.
Crude futures rose $1.20 to $83.95 a barrel in pre-market New York Mercantile Exchange trading, the highest level since October 2008, Bloomberg said.
Stockpiles of distillate fuel — which includes diesel and heating oil — fell for a fourth week, the Department of Energy said last week, as demand increased due to cold weather throughout much of the U.S.
China and Europe also experienced the coldest weather in decades, boosting demand to China by 1.7% last month, Bloomberg reported.
Diesel took a 6.5-cent jump at the pump last year, the biggest gain in three months, DOE said last Monday. The department will release its weekly survey of diesel and gasoline prices Monday afternoon in Washington.
