International Energy Agency Raises Its 2010 Forecast (XOM, USO, XLE, CVX, More)

On reports of The International Energy Agency raising their forecast for global oil demand for 2010, oil futures are looking up. The WTI January 2010 futures are trading about $0.50 higher to $71.04, about a 0.71% increase.

The agency said that they now sees average daily usage at 86.3 million barrels per day, an increase of about 1.7%, or 1.5 million barrels/day, over 2009.

The Agency said that growth is driven mostly by the emerging markets in Asia and the Middle East, and OECD countries have improved in their consumption. U.S. demand is expected to rise by 0.7%, after dropping 4% this year.

The IEA also revised its Chinese outlook, and now sees China consuming about 8.7 million barrels/day, about 3.6% above 2009 levels. China consumes 9.7% of the world's crude oil.

Tickers to watch today, though the news may be priced in:

• ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM);
  
  
• Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX);
  
  
• Total S.A. (NYSE: TOT);
  
  
• Marathon Oil (NYSE: MRO);
  
  
• United States Oil Fund LP (NYSE: USO);
  
  
• iPath S&P GSCI Crude Oil Total Return (NYSE: OIL);
  
  
• Energy Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLE).

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