SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Oil prices extended gains on Tuesday as data from China showed the world’s second largest oil consumer’s import growth surging and on tension in the Middle East after the Yemen-based Houthi movement said it fired missiles on Saudi oil sites.
Brent crude oil rose 16 cents to $63.44 a barrel by 0544 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 14 cents at $59.84 per barrel.
China’s exports grew at a robust pace in March in yet another boost to the nation’s economic recovery as global demand picks up amid progress in worldwide coronavirus vaccinations, according to Reuters.
Reuters reported that crude oil imports to China also jumped 21% in March from a low base of comparison a year earlier as refiners ramped up operation amid robust fuel demand as the COVID-19 pandemic eased.
“The data … points to a domestic revival that could be good news for gasoline demand (and) as such oil prices have moved higher post the release,” Reuters cited Stephen Innes, chief global market strategist at Axi, as saying.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement said on Monday it had fired 17 drones and two ballistic missiles at targets in Saudi Arabia, including Aramco facilities in Jubail and Jeddah.
There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi Arabia.
