Middle East Economic Survey

VOL. LII

No 20

18-May-2009

OIL PRICES

WTI Touches $60/B, But Sentiment And Not Demand Seen As Driver

WTI crude settled at $58.62/B on 14 May, reflecting gains on Wall Street and in spite of fundamentals that show crude stocks are plentiful and forecasts that demand will fall further. WTI spent the week ending 14 May above $58/B and on 12 May exceeded $60/B during intraday trading. However, the rising price of crude is viewed as being based solely on investor sentiment...