Commodity Daily News

Shifts in Growth Forecasts Lift Oil beyond $103 a Barrel

Oil prices pushed beyond $103 a barrel today after investors viewed the recent downward correction as a natural process to help get prices in line with supply. This movement between $96 and $102 a barrel was representative of a market corrective sentiment to get speculation more in step with supply and demand. The upward movement in prices seen yesterday, according to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), was a shift in growth forecasts which view oil consumption to be on the rise going into the second half of 2011.

The decision point anticipated since Monday appears to have been reached, but technical forces appear to now be in play testing this recent jump. Whether oil traders decide to lift oil prices beyond their current high of $103.06 will depend on manufacturing and industrial growth figures out of the major global economies. Employment also appears to be a top priority in this growth sentiment and oil traders are eyeing this week's NFP data out of the United States to verify their revamped growth schedule for oil prices.