Brent oil trading at $95 as 2011 demand boosts oil prices

3 January 2011 3 January 2011

BonTrade

Brent oil futures open Monday’s trading session higher, near the $95 mark as figures showing increased oil demand in the US help to boost oil prices.

Latest Brent Oil Price

In London, Brent crude oil futures for February 2011 delivery was trading at $95.01 a barrel, 07.40 GMT this morning on the ICE Futures Exchange.

US Oil Demand Back on the Rise

A measure of crude oil demand in the US climbed to 20.7 million barrels a day, the highest since May 2008.

“We’re looking at December to average over 20 million barrels a day, which is the first time since February 2008. So we’re not too concerned about the dips in the market.” said Xin Yi Chen, a commodities analyst at Barclays Capital.

Meanwhile, economic growth in China, the world’s biggest energy consumer, will slow to 9 percent this year from 10 percent, that would still be three times the rate in the US and six times that of Europe.

OPEC Oil Output Targets

“We expect OPEC to have to increase their production, causing a reduction in spare capacity, which to us is increasingly becoming a more important determinant of oil prices. Since China became a more important part of the demand pie, the spare capacity factor has become more important.” said Oswald Clint, head oil analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co, London.