Oil: an overview of the market situation

Oil prices rose today , closer to $ 108 per barrel (Brent), which is a month high as strong frosts in the United States contributed to the growth in demand for oil . However, gains were limited by weak Chinese economic data , as well as the decision of the Federal Reserve to reduce the amount of QE. As the price of crude oil WTI, they rose above $ 98 per barrel.

We add that the report on China showed that the seasonally adjusted manufacturing PMI fell in January to a level of 49.5 points, compared with the initial assessment at the level of 49.6 points and 50.5 points in the previous month. Experts expect that this figure will remain unchanged compared with the original estimate. Reduction in the sector was the first since July , mainly due to the weakness in output and new orders. In addition, data showed that the company has reduced its staff at the fastest pace since March 2009 . On the price front, the average production costs declined at a moderate pace , while sales prices declined in the second month in a row.

With respect to actions by the Fed , some investors believed that the U.S. central bank may refrain from changing their programs , given the turmoil in emerging markets. Reduction in the stimulation strengthened the dollar , which affected the goods in terms of dollars , such as oil .

On the dynamics of trade also affected the U.S. data , which showed that the economy expanded at a solid pace in the fourth quarter as consumers and businesses committed expenditure invested by marking one of the best six-month periods of growth in the last decade .

Gross domestic product, which is the broadest measure of goods and services produced in the economy , rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.2% in the fourth quarter , said the Ministry of Commerce on Thursday . Economists had expected in the fourth quarter activity will grow by 3.2%. Overall, in 2013 the economy grew by 1.9%. The last time the economy grew by more than 3 % per annum before the recession , when it reached 3.4% in 2005. In 2012, GDP grew by 2.8%.

March futures price for U.S. light crude oil WTI (Light Sweet Crude Oil) rose to $ 98.41 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).

March futures price for North Sea Brent crude oil mixture increased by 21 cents to $ 108.02 a barrel on the London exchange ICE Futures Europe.