Oil prices advance as China lines up boost in U.S. crude imports

Oil prices advance as China lines up boost in U.S. crude imports
# 17 August 2020 08:06 (UTC +04:00)

Oil prices climbed higher on Monday, lifted by China’s plans to ship in large volumes of U.S. crude in August and September, outweighing concerns over a slowdown in demand recovery after the coronavirus pandemic and an uptick in supplies, APA reports quoting Reuters.

Brent crude rose 21 cents, or 0.5%, to $45.01 a barrel by 0023 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 27 cents, or 0.6%, to $42.28 a barrel.

Chinese state-owned oil firms have tentatively booked tankers to transport at least 20 million barrels of U.S. crude for August and September, Reuters reported on Friday, as China ramped up energy and farm purchases ahead of a review of the Sino-U.S. trade deal.

Record crude imports from world’s top importer China and the easing of COVID-19 restrictions globally have supported oil prices, although new waves of coronavirus outbreaks in several countries are expected to cool consumption again.

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