May 2011 Monthly Average Crude Oil Price

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The monthly average U.S.-dollar price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell back in May, dropping by $8.71 (7.9 percent) to $101.33 per barrel. That retreat occurred despite a weak dollar and an increase in consumption of 379,000 barrels per day (BPD) -- to 19.2 million BPD -- during March, but coincided with a continued rise in crude stocks during May.
 

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According to ASPO-USA, although oil prices fell early in the final full week of May -- at one point dropping below $97 a barrel in New York as the dollar rose to a two-month high (on a daily value basis) following a spate of bad news about the various debt crises in the euro zone -- they quickly bounced back to the vicinity of $100 after Goldman Sachs released a forecast that oil prices were heading higher as demand was outrunning the global oil production and economic recovery was picking up. Goldman was soon joined by Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, and Barclays in forecasting considerably higher oil prices in the next 18 months. JPMorgan sees Brent crude trading at $130 a barrel by the third quarter of 2011 and Goldman is forecasting Brent at $120 by the end of 2011 and $140 by the end of 2012. NY crude closed out last week at $100 a barrel and, in London, Brent crude settled on Friday at $115.