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Oil prices continue climb
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CBC-Oil prices climbed Tuesday as analysts ratcheted up forecasts for next year, believing supplies will get tighter.
Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude closed up $1.95 at $96.89 US per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier crossing above $97. In London, Brent crude added $2.21 at $113.60 US per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
Prices tumbled in late June when the U.S. and other members of the International Energy Agency announced they will release 60 million barrels of oil into the market.
Since closing at $91.02 on June 23, the day of the announcement, prices have rebounded close to seven per cent.
Analysts have said the move by IEA shows that non-OPEC nations are worried that Saudi Arabia will have trouble keeping up with growing world demand.
US GDP released Friday
Barclays Capital increased its forecast for Brent crude by $10 to $115 per barrel in 2012.
The recovery in the world's biggest economy slowed this spring as high gasoline prices cut into consumer spending and after the March 11th earthquake in Japan, which led to a parts shortage that has hampered U.S. manufacturers.
The U.S. economy grew by 1.9 per cent annualized in the January-March quarter. Most economists expect a similarly we pace of growth in the April-June quarter, when the latest GDP numbers are released on Friday.
Growth must be stronger to significantly lower the unemployment rate, which was 9.1 per cent last month. Economists say the economy would need to grow five per cent for a whole year to significantly bring down the unemployment rate.
Gasoline prices have come down since peaking in early May.
The gasoline price-tracking website GasBuddy.com said U.S. retail prices were averaging $3.57 per gallon Tuesday, down 20 cents from a month ago, while Canadian prices are at $1.2151 per litre, down five cents from this time in June.
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