Oil: an overview of the market situation

The price of oil dropped substantially, dropping to an eight-month low of $ 101-102 per barrel, as the outlook for global oil demand growth deteriorated.

We also recall that yesterday, the International Energy Agency (IEA) cut its forecast of world oil demand growth this year, which came after similar moves by the U.S. Energy Agency (EIA) and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

According to IEA, the use of oil on world markets to grow by 795,000 barrels a day this year, that is 25,000 barrels a day less than expected last month.

We add that the IEA now expects almost the same amount of demand, and OPEC, which in a report on Wednesday lowered its growth forecast for consumption up to 800,000 barrels per day. Recall that the EIA on Tuesday lowered its estimate by 50,000 bpd to 960,000 bpd

However, note that the oil has found some support from data showing a decrease in the number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits, which helped ease fears about the deteriorating conditions in the labor market after an unexpected weak job growth in March .

Markets were also watching developments in North Asia after a U.S. government agency said that North Korea has nuclear weapons, and can be installed on the rocket, which added even more ominous threat of war from Pyongyang.

May futures on U.S. light crude oil WTI (Light Sweet Crude Oil) dropped to 90.55 dollars per barrel.