Oil Prices Edge Up on Hopes for Stronger Demand from China

 

Oil prices edged up slightly early on Wednesday, with market participants anticipating increased demand in China next year following Beijing's announcement of a more relaxed monetary policy aimed at boosting economic growth.

Brent crude futures rose by 10 cents, or 0.14%, to $72.29 a barrel by 0131 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 9 cents, or 0.13%, to $68.68. On Monday, China revealed plans to implement an "appropriately loose" monetary policy in 2025, marking the first easing of its stance in 14 years to stimulate the economy.

In November, China's crude imports grew for the first time in seven months, up more than 14% year-on-year.

However, China's policy changes are not expected to significantly impact oil prices until the potential effects of "Trump 2.0" policies take effect, which could counter the current bullish trend, according to Mukesh Sahdev, head of oil analysis at Rystad Energy. He added that while the changes in China may prevent further price declines, they are unlikely to provide much upward support.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., crude oil and fuel inventories increased last week, based on figures from the American Petroleum Institute (API). Crude stocks rose by 499,000 barrels for the week ending Dec. 6, while gasoline stocks grew by 2.85 million barrels and distillate stocks rose by 2.45 million barrels.

The official U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data on oil stocks is due on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. ET (1530 GMT), with analysts expecting a 900,000-barrel drop in crude stocks and a 1.7 million-barrel increase in gasoline inventories.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paraphrasing text from "Reuters" all rights reserved by the original author.