Crude Oil Nears $80 A Barrel Even As Demand Erodes

New York, NY (AHN) – Crude oil futures rose to near $80 a barrel on Monday despite static demand in the United States.

Crude for December delivery reached $79.92 in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange before settling at $77.64 a barrel, up 17 cents.

January crude was last at $77.61.

Oil hit its lowest point in a week, $77.44, on Friday.

December Brent crude settled at $77.27 on Monday, up 7 cents, after rising as high as $79.32. Heating oil for immediate delivery was essentially unchanged at $1.98 a gallon, while natural gas rose 3 cents to $4.46 per million BTUs.

The uptick in oil prices was counterpoint to a decision announced Friday by the nation’s largest refiner, Valero, to close a plant in Delaware. The company said it would permanently close the facility and lay off 550 employees because of declining demand for gasoline and diesel.

Valero said in a statement it would take a fourth quarter charge of $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion.