SINGAPORE – Oil prices inched up on Thursday, extending gains from the previous two sessions on signs of a strong economic rebound in China, the world’s top oil importer, though gains were capped by a rise in US crude inventories and concerns over overall global demand.
Brent crude futures rose 12 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $84.43 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 9 cents, or 0.1 percent, at $77.78.
Both contracts rose about 1 percent in the previous session after data showed manufacturing activity in China in February grew at the fastest pace in more than a decade, adding to evidence of an economic rebound in the world’s second largest economy after the removal of strict COVID-19 curbs.
However, a tenth consecutive week of crude stock builds in the United States capped the market’s gains.
US crude inventories rose by 1.2 million barrels in the week ending Feb. 24 to 480.2 million barrels, their highest level since May 2021, the Energy Information Administration reported.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a 500,000-barrel rise.
Record exports of US crude oil, however, kept the build smaller than in recent weeks, with shipments rising to 5.6 million barrels per day (bpd) last week, according to the EIA.
Oil’s gains were also capped by looming uncertainty over the overall global demand outlook, keeping prices “largely unchanged,” said Serena Huang, head of APAC analysis at analytics firm Vortexa.
