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Oil prices near $73 on seven-month high

12 June 2009 07:48 (UTC +04:00)

Bakuâ€“ APA-Economics. Crude oil traded near a seven-month high, poised for a fourth week of gains, after the International Energy Agency raised its global demand forecast, Bloomberg reported.
The IEA, adviser to 28 nations, increased its consumption outlook for the first time since August amid signs the recession is bottoming out. Chinaâ€™s industrial production rebounded in May, adding to signs that the worldâ€™s third-biggest economy is recovering from its worst slump in almost a decade.
Crude oil for July delivery fell 26 cents to $72.42 a barrel in after-hours trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 1:32 p.m. Sydney time. Yesterday, the contract rose $1.35, or 1.9 percent, to $72.68 a barrel, the highest settlement since Oct. 20. Oil is up 5.6 percent this week.
Brent crude for July delivery fell 27 cents to $71.52 a barrel at 1:33 p.m. in Sydney. Yesterday, the contract rose 99 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $71.79 on Londonâ€™s ICE Futures Europe exchange, the highest settlement since Oct. 20.
The Paris-based IEA increased its global estimate for daily oil demand by 120,000 barrels to 83.3 million barrels in its monthly report yesterday. The gain was driven by the U.S. and China. Consumption worldwide will contract by 2.9 percent from last year, the biggest drop since 1981, the adviser said.
Chinaâ€™s industrial output rose 8.9 percent from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said today, after gaining 7.3 percent in April. That was more than the 7.7 percent median estimate of 16 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
Oil touched a record $147.27 a barrel on July 11 as investors purchased commodities as the dollar dropped and on concern that demand would outpace production.