LONDON, 11 October 2003 — London oil prices hit post-Iraq war highs yesterday as the West’s energy watchdog, the International Energy Agency, warned of a tight world market this winter. Benchmark London Brent crude for November rose $1.35 to $31.49 a barrel, the highest since the US invasion in March. Prices have risen 23 percent in two weeks since a surprise decision by OPEC to cut production this winter. US light crude jumped $1.42, 4.5 percent, to $32.43 a barrel, on top of Thursday’s four percent gains that were triggered by concerns over a possible supply crunch of heating oil.
The IEA, adviser on energy to 26 industrialized nations, forecast yesterday that global oil demand growth would accelerate into the fourth quarter, rising 0.9 percent above last year and exceeding 80 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first time.
“Heating oil demand growth is expected to rebound sharply in the fourth quarter, as US natural gas supplies remain constrained in the face of robust demand,” the IEA said in a monthly report. Heating oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange added another 3.68 cents to 89.10 cents a US gallon yesterday — still a far cry from the $1.31 a gallon all-time record reached in late February of this year.
