World oil demand growth will accelerate next year, adding to the pressure on available supplies, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Wednesday, contradicting a more conservative outlook from producer group OPEC. In its first 2012 forecast in a monthly report, the IEA said oil use would grow by 1.47 million barrels per day (bpd) to 91 million bpd. The agency also trimmed its estimate of demand growth this year to 1.20 million bpd. The IEA's 2012 prediction was more than the 1.32 million bpd expected by OPEC and lower than a forecast from the United States' Energy Information Administration. It expects all of the growth next year to come from emerging economies. "Aside from economic growth, downside pressures from higher-than-expected oil prices also represent a risk to the forecast," said the Paris-based IEA, which advises 28 industrialized countries. The IEA decided to release oil from emergency stocks for only the third time since it was founded in 1974 to fill the gap in supplies left by the disruption to Libya's output. The IEA Wednesday maintained the stocks move had added supply of high-quality crude to a tight market and the agency took "a resolutely positive view" of the strategy so far. Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery rose 62 cents to settle at $98.05 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. WTI got as high as $99.21 before easing back. Brent crude, which is used to price many foreign oil varieties, gained 91 cents to settle at $117.85 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London. Meanwhile, gold advanced to a record near $1,590 an ounce Wednesday – streak in five years – amid new signs that the Federal is open to another round of monetary stimulus and worsening debt woes in Europe. The most actively traded contract, for August delivery, gained $23.20, or 1.5 percent, to settle at $1,585.50 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract set an intraday record of $1,588.90 a troy ounce. Investors bought gold because they were worried that monetary stimulus would lead to high inflation over the long term. Economic and political tensions on both sides of the Atlantic have burnished gold's allure as a “safe haven” investment, one that's likely to retain value while other asset classes have fluctuated wildly. Of concern for conservative investors are the actions of central banks as they try to balance the pursuit of economic growth against inflation fears. Silver outpaced gold, rising 7.1 percent or $2.517 to settle at $38.151 a troy ounce.
