Middle East Economic Survey

VOL. LII

No 7

16-Feb-2009

OIL PRICES

WTI Price Slips Below $40/B As US Stocks Build, IEA Predicts 2009 Demand Slide

The price of WTI declined throughout last week to the mid-$30/B range, closing at $33.98/B on 12 February, a day after the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that crude oil inventories in the US had increased by 4.7mn barrels from the previous week. ICE Brent closed at $44.65/B the same day, widening the WTI/Brent spread to $10.67/B. Nymex...