RECENT ENERGY PRICE DEVELOPMENTS

摘要

Crude oil prices oscillated in a narrow range in March, with supply outages in Libya and northern Iraq as well as market anxiety over Russian-Ukraine tensions countering seasonally weaker demand and reduced refinery throughputs. By end March, market expectations of an imminent restart of limited Libyan exports pressured ICE Brent prices lower, last trading at 107.75 USD/bbl. In contrast, a steady increase in US refinery demand supported NYMEX WTI (West Texas Intermediate) at 103.50 USD/bbl. Weaker demand data emerged for the first quarter, in part due to relatively mild winter weather conditions in Europe and Korea and a waning demand outlook for China. A slowdown in Chinese oil demand growth, that emerged mid-2013, has continued in line with the underlying macroeconomic trend.