Price Swings in Crude Oil Widening

Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil was little changed after falling yesterday as warmer weather moved into the eastern U.S. and Europe, curbing heating-fuel consumption.

Daily price swings in crude oil futures are widening. Futures fell or rose more than 1.5 percent on 26 trading days in the past two months compared with 15 days in the same period a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Heating Season Ends

``The warmer weather is concentrating minds on the fact that the end of heating season is near,'' said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts. ``Crude-oil supplies should build in the next couple of months as refineries perform maintenance.''


Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, has the ``right'' to pursue its nuclear program, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said yesterday, rejecting the request of a United Nations Security Council to halt uranium enrichment by today.

U.S. Buildup

The Security Council unanimously voted Dec. 23 to impose sanctions on Iran over the program, including a ban on the acquisition of materials and technology that might be used to build nuclear weapons. The UN also froze the assets of individuals and groups associated with the program and gave Iran 60 days to halt enrichment.

A U.S. aircraft carrier battle group led by the USS John C. Stennis arrived in the Persian Gulf region as part of a buildup of forces amid heightened tension with Iran. The Nimitz-class Stennis arrived in the region Feb. 15 to join the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower as the second aircraft carrier battle group in the region, the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet said yesterday.