Oil prices nudge up on Chinese economic data
By Trend
Oil prices rose slightly on Monday as Chinese industrial output and retail data topped expectations but gains were capped by overall figures showing the country’s slowest quarterly economic growth in decades, reports Trend citing to Reuters.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose 40 cents, or 0.6%, to $67.12 a barrel by 0923 GMT, while U.S. crude CLc1 was up 19 cents, or 0.32%, at $60.40 a barrel.
Both contracts last week posted their biggest weekly gains in three weeks on cuts in U.S. oil production and diplomatic tensions in the Middle East.
Asian and early European trading was boosted by the more positive Chinese economic data, which may indicate early success in government stimulus efforts and potentially more oil demand in the world’s number two economy.
Analysts at ANZ bank said China’s crude oil imports year-to-date still looked impressive, even as imports fell in June for a second straight month.
“We believe additional crude oil quota (given) to private refiners should keep imports upbeat in H2 2019,” they said.
China’s crude oil throughput rose to a record of 13.07 million barrels per day in June, up 7.7% from a year earlier, following the start-up of two new, large refineries, official data showed on Monday.
Still, economic growth of just 6.2% in the second quarter of 2019 — the worst in 27 years — signaled the impact of trade tensions with Washington and raised the possibility that more incentives might be needed to jumpstart the economy.
Despite a truce agreed between the Chinese and U.S. presidents last month, the trade war remains unresolved.