Oil: an overview of the market situation

Oil prices rose, with rising above the level of $ 102 per barrel, which was backed up by an early weakening the dollar, while the discount for U.S. crude oil, Brent crude fell below $ 10, the first time since June 2012. Economists note that U.S. crude futures were trading at a discount to Brent wide due to a large supply of stores in key Cushing (Oklahoma). But the pipeline is now taking more oil to the U.S. Gulf Coast, easing the supply pressure at Cushing. Meanwhile, experts have pointed out that the weak dollar makes commodities evaluation in dollars more affordable for buyers using other currencies. However, they say little doubt returning to the market after the price increase late Wednesday that followed a weekly report on U.S. crude stocks. Also on the dynamics of trade have influenced the data, which were published today by the Bank of Korea, and showed that the South Korean economy has grown substantially in the first quarter, while showing the most rapid expansion over the past two years, despite the continued depreciation of the Japanese yen, which hurts the export sector of the country. According to the report, the seasonally adjusted gross domestic product grew in the first quarter to 0.9 percent, which is significantly higher than the increase of 0.3 percent, which was recorded in the fourth quarter of 2012. Note that such a significant increase was slightly above the average forecast of experts at the level of 0.7 percent expansion. In addition, it was reported that it was the fastest rate of growth since the first quarter of 2011, when GDP expanded by 1.3 percent.

Analysts and traders said the technical picture remains "bearish", pointing to weak growth in global demand and abundant supplies from the North Sea, the Middle East and North Africa.

The cost of the June futures on U.S. light crude oil WTI (Light Sweet Crude Oil) rose to 92.07 dollars per barrel, the lowest intraday level since Dec. 19.

June futures price for North Sea Brent crude oil mixture rose $ 0.62 to $ 102.47 a barrel on the London exchange ICE Futures Europe.