Oil above $82 on demand recovery

31 March 2010

Written by Kim Bardsley

Crude oil prices rose above $82 (£54) a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange this morning (March 31st) as traders turned their attention to improving demand conditions, while heating oil also climbed.

The latest report from the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed a decline in crude inventories last week, while in Asia improving business conditions helped to increase regional demand during the early trading session.

"The economic situation in the US and other developed countries is getting better, so as long as this situation lasts the oil price could stay in the $80s,” said Tetsu Emori, a commodities fund manager with Astmax in Tokyo, speaking to Bloomberg.

Oil market analysts will now await the publication of the latest demand report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) for a corroboration of the API figures. Data produced by the EIA is generally viewed as more comprehensive and a more reliable indicator of demand conditions.

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