Crude oil: Price curve to skew
upwards Oil was back in action following a slew
of market moving news including the release of the IEA monthly oil
report and DOE's inventory numbers. IEA maintains global oil product
demand at 84.5 million barrels/day in 2006 (+1.1% versus 2005) and
85.9 million barrels/day in 2007 (+1.7%). However the report is
cautious about the 2007 forecast as it faces downside risks, due to
the uncertainties regarding the US economy. The IEA has reduced
China's 2006 demand growth rate to 5.6% from 6.2% given the weak
demand over the past three months, paving the way for choppy
sessions ahead.