reuters
LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) - Brent crude oil rose above $109 a
barrel on Monday as strong Chinese trade data and U.S. jobs
figures pointed to healthy economic growth and higher oil demand
from the world's top two consumers.
Expectations of increased fuel demand added support to an
oil market already bolstered by the loss of crude exports from
Libya, where violence and civil turmoil have cut oil output by
more than 1 million barrels per day (bpd) from pre-war levels.
The Ukraine crisis is also a worry for markets in the West
that rely heavily on oil and gas exports from Russia.
Brent was up 50 cents at $109.11 by 0825 GMT, after
settling down 18 cents and declining 0.7 percent last week. U.S.
oil rose 50 cents to $103.16, extending gains after
ending 18 cents up on Friday.
"Good overall economic data and healthy U.S. data are
supporting oil," said Tetsu Emori, a commodity fund manager at
Astmax Investment. "And we have had geopolitical worries that
have kept oil supported."
China's exports gained steam in May and beat forecasts on
firmer global demand, rising 7 percent from a year earlier and
quickening from April's increase of 0.9 percent. The strong
gains overshadowed an unexpected fall in imports that could
signal weaker domestic demand.
The Chinese data followed U.S. figures showing employment
returning to its pre-recession peak, confirming steady
improvement in the world's top economy.
May marked a fourth straight month of U.S. job gains above
200,000, a stretch last seen in January 2000.
The U.S. data helped bolster Asian shares to their highest
levels in nearly three years, a follow-up to Friday's record
close on Wall Street.
China, the world's largest consumer of energy, imported
26.08 million tonnes, or 6.14 million bpd, of crude oil in May,
bringing total shipments in the first five months of this year
to 128.7 million tonnes.
Some of China's oil appears to have been going into storage.
China's slackening economy, set to grow at its slowest pace
in 23 years, has blunted its oil demand, which dropped to a
seven-month low in April, as refineries scaled back production
for maintenance and exported surplus fuel.
"Imports so far were more affected by state stockpiling, as
China brings a number of new strategic petroleum reserves sites
online," Sijin Cheng, an analyst at Barclays, said in a note.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meets
in Vienna this week and is likely to keep an output target of 30
million bpd. Members of the cartel, which pumps a third of the
world's oil, are happy with oil prices and producing enough to
cover most of their budget needs.
(Additional reporting by Manash Goswami in Singapore; Editing
by Dale Hudson)
