Crude Remains Supported as IEA Raised Demand Forecasts

Crude oil price remains strong in European morning. The International Energy Agency (IEA) raised its forecast on oil demand, as indicated in the September report. The October contract hovers around 72 as investors await further details on US inventories. As driven by stronger than expected US demand and rapid growth in China, the IEA revised up its demand forecasts for 2009 and 2010, to 84.4M bpd and 85.7 M bpd respectively. There were compared with June's projections of 83.94 M bpd for 2009 and 85.25M bpd for 2010. According to the agency, 'there is growing evidence that the global economy may be finally stabilizing, with industrial destocking coming to an end, coupled with the effects of large scale government intervention... Oil demand in US, China and other Asia appears to be running stronger than preliminary estimates suggested'.....Read the entire article