MW: Oil futures edge higher as OPEC hikes demand forecast
Energy Information Administration is due to report inventory data this morning
By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Crude futures gained on Wednesday, getting a boost after OPEC raised its forecast for global oil demand and China reported strong trade data.
Crude oil for April delivery rose 36 cents to $81.85 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex.
"The oil price is being supported by robust import data from China and an upward revision to the U.S. Department of Energy's oil-demand projections," said analysts at Commerzbank AG in a note to clients.
China's trade surplus narrowed to $7.6 billion in February because of soaring imports, official data showed on Wednesday. Read more on the Chinese data.
Compared with the year-earlier month, both exports and imports grew at a higher-than-expected rate, with the value of imports climbing 44.7%.
China imported 4.83 million barrels of crude oil per day in February, the second-highest rate on record on a daily basis, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing official data.
Separately, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said Wednesday it now expects world oil demand to grow by 900,000 barrels a day in 2010. This represents an upward revision of 100,000 barrels a day from the previous assessment.
World oil demand has been highly dependent on the world economy, supported by government-led stimulus plans, OPEC said in its monthly oil market report.
"These stimulus plans have already done a great job of jump-starting many sectors of the economy, including energy," the cartel said. "However, questions remain as to how long governments will be able to afford supporting their economies. Should this support diminish, then world oil demand would of course be impacted."
On Tuesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration also raised its forecast for oil demand. It expects oil consumption to grow by 1.5 million barrels a day this year, up from 1.2 million barrels a day in its previous outlook.
Supply data ahead
Crude prices are likely to hold above $80 a barrel in the near term if Wednesday's inventory data show continued improvements in U.S. energy demand, said analysts at Credit Suisse in a note to clients.
The EIA will report supply data at 10:30 a.m. Eastern. Analysts polled by Platts expect an increase of 2.1 million barrels in crude inventories and a decline of 338,000 barrels in gasoline supplies. They also project a drop of 950,000 barrels in distillate supplies.
The American Petroleum Institute reported late Tuesday a much bigger-than-expected increase in crude supplies for the week ended March 5.
Crude supplies rose by 6.5 million barrels, while gasoline inventories dropped by 3.18 million barrels, the API said.
