Crude rises on demand recovery in China

20/07/2009

Crude oil prices rose during electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange this morning (July 20th), supported by new data signalling a recovery in demand for petroleum products in China.

By 05:49 Eastern Time, the August delivery crude contract was trading at $64.48 (£39) a barrel, up 92 cents on Friday's closing price.

Meanwhile, heating oil prices were also up in electronic trading this morning.

The rally followed data published by CBI China showing that refineries in the country increased their output for the eighth week in a row last week, with facilities operating at 85.12 per cent of capacity on July 16th.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Christopher Bellew, a senior broker at London-based Bache Commodities, commented: "China has been one of the few bright spots in the outlook for oil demand lately. I think we could see funds return to the market and take another run at $70 a barrel."