WTI oil trading firm at $108, crude prices remain bullish

6 April 2011 6 April 2011

BonTrade

WTI oil futures open today’s trading session hovering at $108 a barrel, while both WTI and Brent prices look set to remain bullish as China’s economy is expected to grow by over 9 percent this year, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Latest WTI Oil Price

US Light crude oil futures for May 2011 delivery was trading at $108.12, 05.10 GMT this morning in electronic trading on the NYMEX.

China Growth, Consumption and Oil Prices

China is expected to grow by 9.6 percent in 2011 and 9.2 percent in 2012, a slight moderation on the 10.3 per cent in 2010. Also, the developing economies of Asia are expected to grow by 7.8 percent in 2011 and 7.7 percent in 2012, accroding to the ADB.

Meanwhile, the US EIA (Energy Information Administration) says that China will boost oil consumption this year by another 600,000 barrels per day. Compare this to the US, where oil consumption is expected to increase by just 130,000 barrels per day.

China’s oil production is currently 3.9 million barrels per day, while their oil consumption is 9.6 million, importing 5.7 million barrels of oil per day.

With crude oil demand around the world already nearing 90 million barrels per day, it’s easy to see why oil prices are remaining well above the $100 mark.

US Crude Oil Supplies

Oil traders will receive the first of two updates on US crude oil supplies with the release of weekly data from the US EIA (Department of Energy) due out later today. The data is expected to show a slight rise in US oil inventories.