Oil market steadied as investors digested China’s trade data
Data showed China’s crude oil imports rose 5.1% year-on-year in the first two months of 2024, but the overall imports have been falling
International benchmarks for crude oil were largely unchanged on Thursday, 7 March 2024 markets evaluated new economic data from China in contrast to increasing supply from the US.
Data showed China’s crude oil import rose 5.1% year-on-year in the first two months of 2024, but the overall imports have been falling – a development analysts attributed to the fact that the world’s largest oil importer was not willing to pay the full price per barrel.
Meanwhile, in spite of OPEC+’s decision to extend the voluntary output cuts until mid of this year, the global oil market is relatively well supplied thanks to the rising production in the Americas.
Brent futures settled on a stable note at $82.96/barrel.
WTI decreased 20 cents to settle at $78.93/barrel.