Oil prices rose on Monday on the back of positive signs for global economic growth, supporting energy demand, while Saudi Arabia’s state-owned producer Aramco raised the official selling price for its crude.
Brent crude was up by 84 cents or 1% at $83.58 a barrel by 0609 GMT, after dropping nearly 2% last week. U.S. oil gained 95 cents or 1.2% to $82.22, having declined almost 3% through Friday.
President Joe Biden on Saturday welcomed congressional passage of a long-delayed $1 trillion infrastructure bill, which may boost growth and demand for fuels. China’s export growth slowed in October but beat forecasts, buoyed by rising global demand ahead of winter holiday seasons and improvements in coronavirus-hit supply chains.
“We can expect overall global GDP growth to hold up energy demand,” said Avtar Sandu, senior commodities manager at Phillip Futures in Singpaore, adding “prices can rise higher on tight fundamentals.”
Saudi Arabia also late on Friday raised the price of its benchmark crude for customers in Asia in December, exceeding market expectations. The move by Aramco suggests “demand remains strong” as the OPEC producer and other major oil exporters keep the reins on supply, ANZ Research said in a note.
