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13 Jan 2016
Oil swings back higher as China crude imports hit record
FXStreet (Mumbai) - Oil benchmarks on both sides of Atlantic staged a solid comeback from below $ 30 threshold and rose for the first time in eight days this Wednesday, as the upbeat China trade numbers provided the much-need impetus to oil markets.
Both crude benchmarks rebound 2%
Currently, WTI rises +2.71% to 31.29, while the Brent oil jumps +2.31% to 31.64. Oil prices rebound this session, finally ending an eight-day losing streak as markets cheer record high Chinese crude imports and fall in crude reserves as reported by API on Tuesday.
Chinese crude imports rose to a record 7.82 million barrels in December, up more than 21 percent from November, official data showed on Wednesday.
Reuters noted, “The world's second-biggest oil consumer has been taking advantage of the oil price rout to stock reserves and increase exports of refined products and may be set to overtake the U.S. as the world's largest importer.”
Moreover, Tuesday’s API report showed that the US crude inventories fell by 3.9 million barrels last week, against expectations for an increase of 2.5 million barrels, which also lent support to the recovery in oil prices from a brief dip below $ 30 mark, which stands as a psychological as well as financial threshold.
However, markets believe that the recovery remains fragile as omnipresent supply glut worries continue to weigh. While the EIA’s forecast released on Tuesday, showing that the global glut will remain until late 2017, is likely to keep the recovery short-lived. Meanwhile, EIA weekly crude stockpiles report remains in focus for further momentum.
Both crude benchmarks rebound 2%
Currently, WTI rises +2.71% to 31.29, while the Brent oil jumps +2.31% to 31.64. Oil prices rebound this session, finally ending an eight-day losing streak as markets cheer record high Chinese crude imports and fall in crude reserves as reported by API on Tuesday.
Chinese crude imports rose to a record 7.82 million barrels in December, up more than 21 percent from November, official data showed on Wednesday.
Reuters noted, “The world's second-biggest oil consumer has been taking advantage of the oil price rout to stock reserves and increase exports of refined products and may be set to overtake the U.S. as the world's largest importer.”
Moreover, Tuesday’s API report showed that the US crude inventories fell by 3.9 million barrels last week, against expectations for an increase of 2.5 million barrels, which also lent support to the recovery in oil prices from a brief dip below $ 30 mark, which stands as a psychological as well as financial threshold.
However, markets believe that the recovery remains fragile as omnipresent supply glut worries continue to weigh. While the EIA’s forecast released on Tuesday, showing that the global glut will remain until late 2017, is likely to keep the recovery short-lived. Meanwhile, EIA weekly crude stockpiles report remains in focus for further momentum.