Why are oil prices rising?

World oil demand should increase next year by 1.6 million barrels a day -- 200,000 barrels less than it had previously estimated. And it said global oil demand actually shrunk by 2.4 million barrels a day in the first quarter of this year.

SHOOT: Some inventories have dropped in the U|S by quite a large margin. I can't see oil prices going beyond $65 for a while, perhaps a few weeks. But they will get there and beyond in time.

clipped from finance.yahoo.com The American Petroleum Institute said oil stocks fell 3.13 million barrels to 370.7 million last week. Analysts had expected a gain of 1.4 million barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. "The big driver today is the API number," said Clarence Chu, a trader with market maker Hudson Capital Energy in Singapore. "That's a pretty big draw when people were expecting a build." "There's a good chance the price will blast through $60 in the short-run," Chu said. "But I don't see the demand out there yet." "Supplies are high and rising while demand is low and falling -- but it just doesn't matter," he said in his Schork Report. "Stock markets are rising and the dollar is falling. "In other words, this market is rising not because of fundamentals." OPEC's monthly forecast also suggested that the global appetite for crude remains weak.