NEW YORK: Oil prices settled 1% higher on Thursday (Jan 19), extending a recent rally built around rising Chinese demand, while the market wrote off a second straight week of large builds in US crude inventories.
Brent crude futures gained US$1.18, or 1.4%, to settle at US$86.16 (RM370.78) per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose by 85 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at US$80.33 (RM345.70) per barrel. Those were the highest closing levels for both contracts since Dec 1.
Chinese oil demand climbed 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 published by the Joint Organisations Data Initiative.
Energy markets could be tighter in 2023, especially if the Chinese economy rebounds and the Russian oil industry struggles under sanctions, International Energy Agency head Fatih Birol said on Thursday.
Oil prices were down by more than a dollar per barrel earlier in Thursday’s session, as traders booked profits and US data showed the economy losing momentum. Both oil benchmarks hit their highest level in more than a month on Tuesday.
Prices also came under pressure briefly after US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed US crude stocks last week rose by 8.4 million barrels, their biggest gain since June 2021.
UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo described the EIA data as a “bearish report, with large crude and gasoline (petrol) inventory increases, but an improvement from last week, with a recovery of implied oil demand and refinery runs from the impact of Storm Elliot”.
US petrol refining margins traded at a new five-month high for the fourth straight session on Thursday, amid optimism about rising travel demand from China's reopening and threats to refined products supply from strikes in France.
“All roads seem to lead back to the same input – rising Chinese demand,” said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York.
“There’s just so much bullish sentiment out there, so much fear, that it keeps underpinning this market.” – Reuters
Source: The Sun Daily
A word from our sponsor:
Need Help With Your Personal Finance / Money Issue or need a coach to help you structure or just want to learn the financial skill to self manage your financial matters and retirement. iLearnFromCloud.com
Need to solve a problem quickly, now you can solve it by learning the art of problem solving Art Of Problem Solving
Feeling hungry. Latest food news from Best Restaurant To Eat Malaysian Food and Travel Blog
Memory loss. Need to organize better. Solve problem fast with Free Mind Mapping Software Mind Mapping 101
Need A Customized System Development for your business or Going Paperless XPERT TECHNOLOGIES - Empowering The Paperless Economy
No comments:
Post a Comment