Crude Oil ETF Gets Boost From IEA Report

LONDON, June 12 (Reuters) - The world is heading for a glut of refined products as new Asian and Middle East refineries increase oil processing in a move likely to force less advanced competitors in developed countries to close, the West's energy agency said on Wednesday.

Oil prices rose about 5 percent last week to finish only a dollar short of regaining triple-digit status. Since dipping below $80 per barrel on October 3, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) prices have increased almost 28 percent. This increase is nearly twice that of the S&P 500 Index, up 15 percent since October 3, but reinforces a recent trend for oil prices—as equities go, so goes oil. This chart put together by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), illustrates how WTI crude oil prices and equities have moved nearly in tandem over the past few months.

Soaring U.S. oil production should be enough to allow consumers withstand most potential supply shocks, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday, as it cut estimates for global oil demand. “The oil-producing world today is in the midst of a onceinageneration transition of farreaching consequences,” the IEA, which coordinates the energy policies of major consuming nations, said in its monthly oil market report.

A surge in U.S. oil production has pushed the country’s output to the highest level since 1992, threatening the dominance of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The U.S. pumped 7.06 million barrels a day in the week ended Feb. 8, up 1 percent from the previous week and extending last year’s 19 percent gain, the Energy Information Administration said today. OPEC production fell to the lowest level in a year in January, the Paris-based International Energy Agency said today in its monthly report.

OPEC on Wednesday trimmed its forecast for global growth in oil demand in 2013, becoming the second of the world’s closely watched oil forecasters this week to predict weaker consumption. The move by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in a monthly report follows a similar downward revision to oil demand growth in 2013 by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Tuesday.

The Eagle Ford shale formation lies south of our headquarters in San Antonio, Texas, giving the U.S. Global investment team a firsthand, tacit perspective on the oil and gas industry’s growing natural resources phenomenon. We’ve witnessed how the oil activity is boosting the local economy with solid-paying jobs, a healthy housing market and strong consumer sentiment, as oil giants such as Schlumberger and Halliburton take a bigger stake in the area.

By Benzinga: By The ETF Professor It may seem hard to believe in the moment, what with all the concerns about a slowing economy and diminished import demand from Europe, but China's oil demand is expected to continue soaring. In fact, Barclays Capital said in a report Wednesday that China's oil demand will be “significantly” higher than what the International Energy Agency is forecasting.

John Dalt submits: Last Thursday morning, before the market opened, the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced the coordinated release of 60 million barrels from strategic petroleum reserves held by oil consuming countries. The U.S. contributed 30 million barrels of this additional supply. The release was to take 30 days.