Oil recovers in price amid declining US inventories and rising Chinese imports
Kyiv • UNN
Oil prices rose on Thursday amid falling US crude stockpiles and increased Chinese imports, supporting expectations of rising demand in the world's two largest oil consuming countries.
Oil prices rose on Thursday amid falling crude oil stocks in the United States and increased imports from China, which supported expectations of rising demand in the world's two largest oil-consuming countries, UNN reports citing Reuters.
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July futures for Brent crude oil rose 55 cents, or 0.7%, to $84.13 per barrel at 12:55 GMT. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil in June rose by 62 cents, or 0.8%, to $79.61 per barrel.
"Oil markets received support from a larger-than-expected decline in US inventory data. Improved data on China's trade balance added to the upside," said Tina Teng, an independent market analyst.
Crude oil inventories in the United States, the world's largest oil consumer, fell by 1.4 million barrels last week to 459.5 million, exceeding analysts' expectations of a 1.1 million barrel decline, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Inventories declined as refinery activity increased by 307 thousand barrels per day over the period.
According to customs data released on Thursday, crude oil supplies to China, the world's largest oil importer, reached 44.72 million tons in April, or about 10.88 million barrels per day. This is 5.45% more than a year earlier.
"The impressive recovery (in oil prices) has also been helped by fading hopes for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas," said Tamas Varga of oil brokerage PVM.
Hamas said on Wednesday that it was unwilling to make new concessions to Israel in ceasefire talks in the Gaza Strip, although negotiations are still ongoing in Cairo.
"Although oil prices may improve slightly in the short term, it may be difficult to return to the April high above $90 per barrel, where geopolitical tensions were at their peak," said Yip Jun Rong, market strategist at IG.
