New York (Platts)--26Aug2008

NYMEX's front-month crude future contract on the CME's Globex system was
75 cents lower at $114.16/barrel Tuesday after touching an intra-session low
of $112.36/b as the US dollar surged against the euro and the UK pound.

The US Dollar Index on ICE was 73 points higher at 77.523 at 1225 GMT,
just slightly off the intra-day high of 77.619.

The rally against the euro and the pound was precipitated by another drop
in German business confidence. The monthly business climate index calculated
by the Munich-based economic research institute IFO fell to 94.8 points from
97.5 points in July, its lowest level since August 2005, AFP reported.

But the selloff in crude was stemmed by a reversal in product prices and
a hurricane sitting south of Haiti in the Caribbean. The National Hurricane
Center said Hurricane Gustav could enter the Gulf of Mexico over the upcoming
weekend.

September heating oil was up 50 points, having rallied 6 cents off the
lows while September RBOB was 66 points higher at $2.8889/gal.
--Linda Rafield, linda_rafield@platts.com