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Brent futures were up 94 cents at $80.58 a barrel by 0955 GMT -
rising as high as $1 earlier - while U.S. West Texas
Intermediate (WTI) crude also climbed 94 cents to $76.59 a
barrel.
The supply deficit that had been looming in the second half of
the year is now backed up by hard figures, Commerzbank analysts
said, citing recent data indicating China and India's imports of
crude oil from Russia hit an all-time high in June.
However, buying interest from India is likely to weaken, given
narrowing discounts and payment problems. Meanwhile, in early
July Russia joined Saudi Arabia in cutting output for August.
"Demand from China and India could therefore shift more towards
other suppliers, which would push up oil prices," the analysts
said.
In the U.S., crude inventories have also fallen, supported by a
jump in crude exports as well as higher refinery utilisation,
the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.
"That tightness in supply is already showing up in inventories,"
analysts from ANZ Bank said.
Meanwhile, investors welcomed stimulus measures designed to
reivigorate China's sluggish economy.
Latest figures from the world's second-biggest oil consumer
suggest the rate of gross domestic product growth in the
second-quarter augurs a miss of the government's 5% annual
growth target.
On Friday, Chinese authorities unveiled plans to help boost
sales of automobiles and electronics to shore up its sluggish
economy.
"The announcement remains short on detail but notions of China
buying more cars gives rise in hope for oil investor bulls," PVM
analyst John Evans said.
(Reporting by Natalie Grover in London; Additional reporting by
Arathy Somasekhar in Houston and Andrew Hayley in Beijing;
editing by Jamie Freed, Jason Neely and Louise Heavens)
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