Crude rises more than 1% on confidence in Chinese demand

Oil prices rose more than 1% on Thursday and resumed their bullish march on data indicating rising demand from China, as the market posted a second straight week of large gains in US crude inventories.

Brent futures gained 1.4% to close at $86.16 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 1.1% to close at $80.33 a barrel.

Those were the highest closing levels for both contracts since December 1, 2022.

For its part, the Mexican export mix gained 1.04% to 69.88 dollars per barrel.

China’s oil demand rose by nearly 1 million barrels per day (bpd) from the previous month, to 15.41 million bpd in November, the highest level since February, according to the latest export figures released by the oil compilation agency. JODI data.

Under pressure

Energy markets could be tighter in 2023, especially if the Chinese economy recovers and Russia’s oil industry faces further difficulties from sanctions, International Energy Agency (IEA) chief Fatih Birol said on Thursday.

The market, however, came under pressure in the morning after data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) indicated that oil inventories in the country increased last week by 8.4 million barrels, its biggest gain. since June 2021.

UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo described the EIA data as a “bearish report, with large increases in crude oil and gasoline inventory, but representing an improvement on last week, with a recovery in demand implied.” Oilfield and Refinery from the Impact of Storm Elliot”.

US gasoline refining margins traded to a new five-month high for the fourth straight session.

The foregoing, amid optimism about the increase in travel demand due to the reopening of China and threats to the supply of refined products due to strikes in France.