FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - While gaining slightly over the first-half of the day, crude oil remains well-below last week´s highs as Saudi Arabia pledges to make up for any supply shortfall. The front-month contract so far lingers just above the day´s opening price around $97.00 a barrel after hitting a daily max earlier at $97.59.
Despite unrest escalating in Libya causing total oil output to decline by more than a half, fears of an overall shortfall have subsided considerable from last week as OPEC members increase production allowing the IEA to give an optimistic assessment regarding global supply. Traders will continue to closely watch the situation as fresh protests unfold in countries like Oman and Bahrain, but in the near-term it seems last weeks jitters have calmed enough to not detrimentally weigh on overall market sentiment.
Over the rest of the day, the market will have a close eye on Bernanke´s testimony to Congress in order to gain hint of future policy action by the Fed. What´s more, the upcoming US ISM manufacturing report should help traders gauge the strength of the recovery in the world´s largest economy.
