Oil hovers at highest since Oct on cold weather, China stimulus

January 6

By Florence Tan

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices hovered at their highest since October on Monday as investors eyed the impact on global fuel demand from colder weather in the Northern Hemisphere and Beijing’s economic stimulus measures.

Brent crude futures rose 15 cents, or 0.2%, to $76.66 a barrel by 0125 GMT after settling on Friday at its highest since Oct. 14. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 22 cents, or 0.3%, at $74.18 a barrel after closing on Friday at its highest since Oct. 11.

Beijing is cranking up fiscal stimulus to revitalise the faltering economy, announcing on Friday that it will sharply increase funding from ultra-long dated treasury bonds in 2025 to spur business investment and consumer-boosting initiatives.

Also, its central bank said on Friday it will cut banks’ reserve requirement ratio and interest rates at a proper time.

Last year, slowing economic growth and a transition to cleaner fuels in its transport sector weighed on crude imports and fuel demand in China, the world’s largest oil importer and No. 2 consumer.

On supply, Goldman Sachs expects Iran’s production and exports to fall by the second quarter as a result of expected policy changes and tighter sanctions from the administration of incoming U.S. President Donald Trump.

Output at the OPEC producer could drop by 300,000 barrels per day to 3.25 million bpd by second quarter, they said.

The U.S. oil rig count, an indicator of future output, fell by one to 482 last week, a weekly report from energy services firm Baker Hughes showed on Friday.

(Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

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