VOL. XLVII

No 11

15-March-2004

OPEC

Crude Prices Rangebound On Conflicting Supply/Demand Signals

Crude oil prices moved in a range just below their recent post-Iraq invasion high last week, but analysts suggested the price pressure could soon ease. Saudi Arabias announcement of April crude allocations confirmed that OPEC intended to take a modest amount of oil out of the market in April, effectively setting a ceiling for the price range. The floor of the range was set by US weekly inventory data...