According to the Commodity Trading Department of , the price of the US oil futures rallied on Friday, supported by higher demand for riskier assets, after the report that China’s economy is slowing down as expected.
The price of the August NYSE futures contract gained 1.2%, thus reaching $87,10/b. This is the highest level reached within the week.
The reports and forecasts released by the emitters of various securities will dominate the market next week. If they are positive, oil prices may exceed $90/b.
In the meantime, Western negotiators keep trying to force Iran to abandon its nuclear program. However, the Islamic country insists that its nuclear program is for energy purposes only. The concerns over the lower export of crude oil by Iran have been the major market driver supporting oil prices since December 2011.
The April gasoline contracts were made at $2.82 per gallon, which is 1 cent less a month before.
In the meantime, the price of the August natural-gas futures contract stayed unchanged at $2.87 per Mcf. However, during the week natural gas appreciated by 3.5%.
The OPEC hasn’t changed its forecast for the global oil demand in 2012 (it is expected to grow up to 900K barrels a day). It expects the demand to drop down to 800K b/d in 2013 mainly because of the continued global economic slowdown.
