Oil prices rose Thursday as increased refinery purchasing and falling U.S. crude inventories as China’s April oil imports jumped 5.45% from a year ago supported expectations for rising demand for the world’s two largest crude-consuming countries.
July Brent crude futures were up 31 cents, or 0.4%, at $83.89 a barrel as of 05:33 GMT. WTI crude oil rose 39 cents, or 0.5%, to $79.38 a barrel in June.
Oil markets were buoyed by a larger-than-expected decline in US inventory data. Improving China’s trade balance data has increased upward momentum, and factors that suggest crude oil prices may continue to follow economic development are providing support.
According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), crude stocks in the United States, the world’s largest oil user, fell by 1.4 million barrels last week to 459.5 million barrels; This was above analysts’ expectations for a decline of 1.1 million barrels. Inventories fell as refinery activity increased by 307,000 barrels per day (bpd) during this period.
Thus caused gasoline stocks to rise by more than 900,000 barrels to 228 million barrels, while distillate stocks, including diesel and heating oil, rose by 600,000 barrels to 116.4 million barrels.
The market shrugged off increases in gasoline and distillate fuels as refineries ramped up for the upcoming driving season.
Crude oil shipments to China in April amounted to 44.72 million metric tons, or about 10.88 million barrels per day, according to customs data released Thursday by China, the world’s largest oil importer. This was 5.45% more than the relatively low imports of 10.4 million barrels per day in April 2023.
Hopes for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict prevented oil prices from rising. The US said earlier in the week that negotiations should be able to bridge the gaps between Israel and Hamas.
Even if there is a short-term relief in oil prices, it may be difficult to return to the April highs of $90 a barrel, when geopolitical tensions were at their peak.
