International oil prices rose to close at $98.41 a barrel on the 7th

As the US Energy Information Administration raised the global oil demand growth forecast in 2012, and market investors worry that Iran may prematurely interrupt oil exports to Europe, the international oil price rose sharply on the 7th.

On the same day, the U.S. Energy Information Administration released a report that raised the expected global oil demand increase by 50,000 barrels per day in 2012, which greatly boosted the sentiment of the crude oil market. The oil price in New York, which was originally under pressure from domestic weak demand, reversed the trend of multi-day decline and turned upwards.

At present, investors are worried that Iran may stop exporting oil to the EU before the EU bans its oil exports in July. Combined with the current cold-temperate attacks on Europe, the EU’s oil supply and demand gap may increase.

In addition, the optimism of the recent negotiations on the Greek debt negotiations on the market intensified, and the euro thus gained an upside momentum, rising to an eight-week high against the US dollar. The U.S. dollar index fell sharply, and the weak dollar boosted the rise in oil prices.

By the close of the day, the price of light crude oil** delivered by the New York Mercantile Exchange in March rose by $1.50 to close at $98.41 a barrel, an increase of 1.55%. The London Brent crude oil price in London in March rose 30 cents to $116.23 a barrel, or 0.26%.