LONDON: Global oil prices struck two-week highs yesterday, with the market buoyed by forecasts of stronger crude demand, analysts said.
New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in March, rallied to $96.80 a barrel — the highest point since the start of the year. It later pulled back slightly to $96.74, up $1.77 from Tuesday.
Brent North Sea crude for March gained $1.06 to $107.77 a barrel.
“Both the major crude oil contracts are ... up for a second straight day,” said Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.
“The lack of fresh economic data means sentiment is still driven by events from yesterday when crude oil rallied after the International Energy Agency sharply increased its forecast for global oil demand.
“On top of this, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its global growth forecast for the first time in almost two years.”
The IMF lifted its prediction for global economic growth on Tuesday by 0.1 percentage point to 3.7 percent for 2014.
The optimistic outlook is fuelled by solid growth in the United States as other countries also move away from austerity budgets.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) also hiked its prediction of global oil demand, which is dependent on the strength of the world economy.
China approves 12 new free trade zones
BEIJING: China has approved a dozen new free trade zones months after opening its first one in Shanghai, state media said Wednesday, furthering efforts to test economic reforms and bolster growth.
Beijing “has given the nod to 12 free trade zones ... amid a spurt of nationwide enthusiasm for such schemes,” the official news agency Xinhua reported.
The sites will include the megacities of Tianjin near the capital and Guangdong in the south close to Hong Kong, the report said, citing an unnamed source — who declined to name the remaining 10 locations.
The new zones will have to conduct a survey and draw up specific plans “in a process that may last more than a year”, Xinhua added.
Agencies
