Oil edged down below $47 a barrel today ahead of Opec's meeting this weekend which pushed prices up by more than 11 per cent in the previous session, helped by better-than-expected economic data.
Easing some demand worries and pushing equities up, the US Commerce Department said yesterday sales slipped 0.1 per cent in February after a hefty 1.8 per cent rise a month earlier, an unexpectedly small drop and a rare dose of good news for an economy trapped in a 14-month recession.
US light crude for April delivery fell 43 cents a barrel to $46.60 a barrel, having jumped $4.70 yesterday to settle at $47.03, erasing the previous two sessions' losses. London Brent crude was 54 cents down at $44.55.
The market is eyeing Opec's meeting on Sunday, waiting to see if ministers will decide further cuts or call for stricter compliance, which seems to be the preferred option for influential member Saudi Arabia.
Oil has hovered between $33 and $50 since the beginning of the year, halting its slide from last July's records above $147 a barrel, after OPEC agreed successive cuts for a total of 4.2 million barrels per day (bpd) since September.
Opec seaborne oil exports, excluding Angola and Ecuador, will fall to a five-year low in the four weeks to March 28th, to 22.76 bpd, down 350,000 bpd, UK consultancy Oil Movements said in its latest weekly estimate yesterday.
Potentially capping prices today, both Paris-based consumer watchdog the International Energy Agency and Opec will release monthly reports on Friday expected to show yet more downward revisions for oil demand this year.
Opec will slash its forecast for 2009 oil demand by one million barrels per day in its monthly report, the group's secretary general Abdullah al-Badri said on Monday.
The US Energy Department's forecasting arm on Tuesday was the first to revise down its monthly forecast, saying it expected world oil consumption to average 84.27 million barrels per day in 2009, down 430,000 bpd from its previous monthly forecast and the lowest level since 2005.
Reuters