West Texas
Intermediate crude rose for the first time in six days, trimming a weekly drop
as industrial production advanced more than forecast in China, the
second-biggest oil consumer.
Futures
gained as much as 1.4 percent in New
York, snapping the longest streak of declines since
December. China’s
factory output climbed 9.7 percent in July from a year earlier, 0.8 percentage
points higher than forecast in a Bloomberg survey, figures from the National
Bureau of Statistics show. Prices held gains even as the International Energy
Agency cut its estimate for 2014 global oil demand growth.
WTI for
September delivery advanced as much as $1.42 to $104.82 a barrel in electronic
trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $104 as of 1:46 p.m. London time. The contract
fell 97 cents to $103.40 yesterday amid speculation that the Federal Reserve
will trim stimulus measures in the U.S. Prices are down 2.8 percent this week.
Brent for
September settlement rose 0.4 percent to $107.09 a barrel on the London-based
ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark was at a premium of $3.09
to WTI, down from $3.28 yesterday.
