Crude oil futures rise to 3-week high on global demand prospects

Investing.com - Crude oil futures rose to a three-week high on Wednesday, as growing optimism over the global economic outlook and the impact on future oil demand prospects boosted the appeal of the commodity.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in March traded at USD95.45 a barrel during European morning trade, up 0.5%.

New York-traded oil futures hit a session high of USD95.71 a barrel earlier in the day, the strongest level since January 3. WTI oil prices settled 0.4% higher on Tuesday to end at USD94.97 a barrel.

Nymex oil futures were likely to find support at USD93.65 a barrel, the low from January 21 and near-term resistance at USD95.73 a barrel, the high from January 3.

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday raised its forecast for global economic growth to 3.7% in 2014, up from an estimate of 3.6% in October.

The agency said it expects the U.S. economy to grow by 2.8% this year, up from its previous forecast of 2.6%, while the euro zone is expected to emerge from contraction to expand by 1% in 2014.

Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday that global oil demand is forecast to rise by 1.3 million barrels a day in 2014 to 92.5 million barrels, compared to a previous forecast of 91.2 million barrels a day.

The IEA cited “stronger economic momentum as the year progresses,” as its reasoning behind the upward revision.

Market players awaited key U.S. weekly supply data to gauge the strength of oil demand from the world’s largest consumer.

The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Thursday’s government report could show crude stockpiles rose by 1.6 million barrels in the week ended January 17.

The data comes out one day later than usual due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday earlier in the week.

Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for March delivery added 0.5% to trade at USD107.26 a barrel, while the spread between the Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at USD11.81 a barrel.