Oil prices rose on Thursday, extending a more than 3% rally in the previous session, boosted by record U.S. crude exports and a weaker U.S. dollar, though gains were capped in Asia due to lingering fears over slack demand in China.
Brent crude futures gained 20 cents, or 0.2%, to $95.89 a barrel by 0332 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed 19 cents, or 0.2%, to $88.10 a barrel. U.S. crude stocks rose 2.6 million barrels last week, according to weekly government data on Wednesday, with crude exports rising to 5.1 million barrels a day, the most ever.
“Solid U.S. crude exports raised optimism over demand and prompted fresh buys, but concerns that China’s muddled economic policies may continue under President Xi Jinping’s growing power limited gains in Asia,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager of research at Nissan Securities.
Global investors dumped Chinese assets early this week on fears that ideology may increasingly trump growth under China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.
(Bloomberg)
