By William L. Watts, MarketWatch
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) — Oil futures saw mixed trade Wednesday, taking in stride a marginal cut in the International Energy Agency’s demand-growth forecast a day after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries forecast a rise.
Nymex crude oil futures for March delivery CLH3 +0.15% rose 6 cents, or 0.1%, to $97.57 a barrel in electronic trade. London-traded Brent crude oil futures UK:LCOJ3 +0.12% fell 4 cents to $117.71 a barrel.
The Paris-based International Energy Agency warned in its monthly report that expectations for growing demand in 2013 may be overly optimistic. The IEA questioned whether an apparent steep rise in Chinese demand at the end of last year could be sustained. See: IEA cautious about growth in global oil demand .
The IEA said it expected oil demand to grow by 840,000 barrels a day in 2013, down 90,000 barrels a day from its previous estimate. The cut comes after the International Monetary Fund last month lowered its projections for global economic growth.
Strategists at VTB Capital in London said they expected market participants to briefly turn their attention Wednesday to U.S. fundamentals when the Energy Information Administration delivers its weekly U.S. fuel inventory report for the week ending Feb. 9.
“We expect another bearish report that could add some pressure to [West Texas Intermediate] prices,” they wrote. “Refinery-utilization rates are likely to contract further, potentially slipping below 84% of capacity, as producers continue to reduce runs during the seasonal turnaround period.”
Also, the blizzard that hit the northeastern U.S. last week may have slowed demand for products, they said.
Oil futures were buoyed Tuesday as OPEC lifted its 2013 oil-demand-growth forecast to 840,000 barrels a day, a daily rise of 80,000 barrels.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration on Tuesday also raised its demand forecast and boosted its outlook for Brent crude oil and gasoline prices.
William L. Watts is MarketWatch's European bureau chief, based in Frankfurt. Follow him on Twitter @wlwatts.
