TRD: OIL: OPEC leaves production unchanged despite predictions that demand is likely to rise in 2011
U.S. crude was up 29 cents to $88.08 a barrel while ICE Brent was also up 16 cents to $90.64 in the early hours of Monday trading after OPEC’s weekend meeting did not lead to any increase in production. This followed reports further backing speculation that oil demand is due to grow in 2011, with the Energy Agency raising its 2011 oil demand growth forecast by 130,000 bpd to 1.32 million bpd. The extreme winter weather conditions in Europe and the U.S. is also continuing to have an impact on demand for energy.
In China, interest rates remained stable after the Central banks meeting this weekend despite speculation that interest would be raised in order to combat rising inflation (which now stands at more than 5%) in the world’s second largest oil consumer. This was followed by reports on Monday that any monetary policy tightening was unlikely to be done abruptly as inflation is not expected to exceed its current levels.
