The Commodities market closed in for the week for Easter on Thursday, the 21st of April 2011, with the rate of increase in the price of crude oil decreasing slightly. The market closed with WTI crude future priced at USD $ 112.29 a barrel, increasing by 0.75 percent, while Brent registered a slight price hike of 0.11 percent to be at USD $ 123.99 a barrel.
The market conditions, in light of rising US debt levels, depreciation of the Greenback against other major currencies, the ongoing crisis in Libya, concerns about Euro-Zone’s sovereign debt, and Japan still reeling from the effects of the earthquake and tsunami which stuck the country last month, are such that oil prices are expected to remain on the high side when trading resumes next week.