Oil prices edged lower on Monday as investors brace for economic data in Asia due this week that should give a reading on how China's coronavirus epidemic has affected oil demand. Brent crude was at $56.99 a barrel, down 33 cents by 0121 GMT after rising 5.2% last week, the biggest weekly gain since September 2019.
* Jan U.S. crude imports at 1.72 mln T, up 53.3% y/y. * Total Jan crude imports edge down 0.3% at 12.42 mln T on-year. By Jane Chung. South Korea's U.S. crude imports in January rose 53.3% from a year earlier, customs data showed on Saturday, reflecting the country's steady purchases of U.S. oil in the absence of Iranian crude due to sanctions.
Oil prices rose this week, snapping a five-week losing streak and shrugging off a downbeat U.S. inventory report, revisions lower in crude-demand growth forecasts and fresh worries about the scope of the coronavirus outbreak in China. U.S. crude futures rose 3.4% to $52.05 a barrel this week after posting a 1.2% gain on Friday. Brent, the global gauge of prices, rose 5.2% for the week to $57.32 a barrel and climbed 1.7% on Friday.
Oil prices ended higher on Friday to notch their first weekly rise in six weeks, as a report of oil purchases by Chinese refiners helped to ease worries about a slowdown in oil demand from the spread of COVID-19. Bloomberg News reported a "buying spree" among China's independent oil refiners. March WTI oil rose 63 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $52.05 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
By Myra P. Saefong and William Watts, MarketWatch. Chinese independent refiners go on oil' buying spree': Bloomberg News. Oil futures settled higher on Friday to score a weekly gain--their first in six--as traders assessed reported signs of Chinese demand for crude against a backdrop of concern about the impact of COVID-19 on the global economy.
Baker Hughes (BKR) on Friday reported that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil rose by two to 678 this week. The total active U.S. rig count, meanwhile, was unchanged at 790, according to Baker Hughes (BKR). Oil prices continued to gain, with March West Texas Intermediate crude up 39 cents, or 0.8%, at $51.81 a barrel.
U.S. energy firms added oil rigs for a second week in a row as crude prices, which have dropped about 15% this year, were set to rise this week as investor concerns began to ease over the long-term economic impact of the coronavirus.
Oil prices rose Friday, shrugging off a downbeat U.S. inventory report, slashes in crude-demand growth forecasts and fresh worries about the scope of the coronavirus outbreak in China. U.S. crude futures rose 0.5% to $51.69 a barrel, while Brent, the global gauge of prices, rose 0.8% to $56.78 a barrel. Prices climbed after the Energy Information Administration reported that domestic crude stockpiles rose by 7.5 million barrels last week, more than double the 2.9- million-barrel...
Oil prices rose over 1% on Friday, posting their first weekly gain since early January as investors bet the economic impact of the coronavirus would be short-lived and hoped for further Chinese central bank stimulus to tackle any slowdown. Brent crude rose 98 cents, or 1.74%, to settle at $57.32 a barrel.
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