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Brent crude futures gained $1.18, or 1.4%, to settle at $86.16
per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude
futures rose by 85 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $80.33 per
barrel. Those were the highest closing levels for both contracts
since Dec. 1.
Chinese oil demand climbed by nearly 1 million barrels per day
(bpd) from the previous month to 15.41 million bpd in November,
the highest level since February, according to the latest export
figures published by the Joint Organisations Data Initiative.
Energy markets could be tighter in 2023, especially if the
Chinese economy rebounds and the Russian oil industry struggles
under sanctions, International Energy Agency (IEA) head Fatih
Birol said on Thursday.
Oil prices were down by more than a dollar per barrel earlier in
Thursday's session, as traders booked profits and U.S. data
showed the economy losing momentum. Both oil benchmarks hit
their highest level in more than a month on Tuesday.
Prices also came under pressure briefly after U.S. Energy
Information Administration (EIA) data showed U.S. crude stocks
last week rose by 8.4 million barrels, their biggest gain since
June 2021.
UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo described the EIA data as a
"bearish report, with large crude and gasoline inventory
increases, but an improvement from last week, with a recovery of
implied oil demand and refinery runs from the impact of Storm
Elliot."
U.S. gasoline refining margins traded at a new five-month high
for the fourth straight session on Thursday, amid optimism about
rising travel demand from China's reopening and threats to
refined products supply from strikes in France.
"All roads seem to lead back to the same input - rising Chinese
demand," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New
York.
"There's just so much bullish sentiment out there, so much fear,
that it keeps underpinning this market."
(Reporting by Shariq Khan, additional reporting by Noah
Browning, Ahmad Ghaddar, Sonali Paul and Emily Chow;Editing by
David Goodman, Elaine Hardcastle and Paul Simao)
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