Crude oil futures rise on Chinese data, Fed worries persist
Investing.com
Published Aug 09, 2013 03:04AM ET
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in September traded at USD103.97 a barrel during European morning trade, up 0.55%.
The September contract settled down 0.93%, at USD103.40 a barrel on Thursday.
Oil prices found support after data on Friday showed that industrial production in China rose 9.7% in July, beating expectations for a 9.0% increase and easing concerns over a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.
A separate report showed that consumer price inflation in China remained unchanged at an annualized rate of 2.7% last month, compared to expectations for an uptick to 2.8%.
The data came a day after a report showed that Chinese exports rose 5.1% from a year earlier in July, beating expectations for a 3% increase and following a 3.1% drop in June.
The data showed that imports surged 10.9%, blowing past forecasts for a 2.1% increase and following a 0.7% decline in June.
The country’s trade surplus narrowed to USD17.8 billion for the month from a surplus of USD27.1 billion in June.
China is the world's second largest oil consumer after the U.S. and manufacturing numbers are used as indicators for fuel demand growth.
But investors remained cautious as recent U.S. economic reports spurred fresh uncertainty over whether the Fed will soon taper its bond-buying program.
On Wednesday, Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto said there has been "meaningful improvement" in the labor market and that tapering may be warranted if it continues to strengthen.
Her comments echoed similar remarks made by Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher earlier in the week.
The Fed’s stimulus program is viewed by many investors as a key driver in boosting the price of commodities as it tends to depress the value of the dollar.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for September delivery eased up 0.24% to trade at USD106.94 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD2.97 a barrel.
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Written By: Investing.com
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