International Agency Appeals For "Release" of More Oil -- Hmmm -- Where is The Price of Oil Headed?

Link here.

The International Energy Agency’s governing board issued a statement during its regular quarterly meeting on May 19 appealing to suppliers to provide more oil to the market. IEA said it is prepared to use all tools at its disposal, which include releasing strategic oil reserves.

While the Paris-based agency did not name any particular oil suppliers in the statement, the world’s spare oil production capacity lies within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

IEA, considering oil market developments and their impact on the global economy, noted that oil prices stand at elevated levels driven by market fundamentals, geopolitical uncertainty, and future expectations and cited growing signs that the rise in oil prices since September 2010 is affecting economic recovery by widening global imbalances, reducing household and business income, and placing upward pressure on inflation and interest rates.

As global oil demand increases seasonally from May-August, there is a clear, urgent need for additional supplies on a more competitive basis to be made available to refiners to prevent a further tightening of the market, the statement said. 

Folks may want to look at the graph at this site and pay particular attention to supply vs demand in last half of this year (2011). That was posted two days ago. Something tells me the IEA request was not simply coincidental.