The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil slipped back to $101 a barrel early Wednesday as investors remain concerned about oil demand as unemployment figures in the eurozone rose to record levels.
Latest Brent Oil Price
In London, ICE Brent crude oil futures for June 2013 delivery was trading at $101.47 a barrel, 06:28 GMT this morning on the ICE Futures Exchange, closing down nearly 2 percent. Meanwhile, Brent’s premium to the US WTI crude oil, continued to shrink, settling at $8.91 a barrel, the narrowest level since December 2011.
Eurozone Unemployment
Unemployment in the eurozone inched up to 12.1 percent in March from 12 percent in February according to data from Eurostat released yesterday. The highest levels of joblessness were in Greece, at 27.2 percent for January, Spain, 26.7 percent and Portugal 17.5 percent.
“The driving force behind the market right now is economic policy,” said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures. He noted that while euro-zone unemployment rose, inflation slowed to 1.2 percent to 1.7 percent, meaning the European Central Bank has “no reason to not lower rates” when it meets Thursday.
Reuters Poll on Brent Price
Higher unemployment means less disposable income, hence lower oil demand and in turn, falling oil prices. But some analysts still believe that Brent will remain at current levels through 2013.
According to a recent Reuters poll, the price of Brent crude will hover around $100 a barrel for the next two years as analysts slashed their forecasts for the oil price to reflect ample supply and sluggish economic growth.
Brent crude oil will average $107.60 per barrel this year the Reuters monthly oil price survey for April predicted which points to another rise for the commodity however we think the forecast maybe a little too positive right now.
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Brent oil prices slips back to $101 a barrel on crude demand worries
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