Sunday, 16 December 2012


On the week, New York-traded oil futures added 0.95%.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in January rose 0.9% Friday to settle at USD86.85 a barrel by close of trade.

The upbeat data helped eased concerns over the growth outlook for the world’s second largest economy.

China is the world's second largest oil consumer after the U.S. and has been the engine of strengthening demand. Manufacturing numbers are used as indicators for fuel demand growth.


Meanwhile, in the U.S., data showed that industrial production climbed 1.1% in November, the biggest gain since December 2011 and above expectations for a 0.3% increase.

Investors also continued to monitor developments surrounding the fiscal cliff in the U.S., approximately USD600 billion in automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1, unless a divided Congress and the White House can work out a compromise in the two weeks left before the deadline.

President Barack Obama said recently that any solution must include spending cuts and raising revenue, including increasing taxes on the wealthiest. Republican leaders say they will agree to higher revenue, but they want to close loopholes or reduce tax breaks rather than raise rates.

Without a deal, the U.S. could fall back into recession and drag much of the world down with it.

The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil-consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.

In the week ahead, investors will be continuing to monitor the progress of talks in Washington on the fiscal cliff.

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