WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices moved higher on Thursday, lifted by optimism about the outlook for demand after data showed an increase in Chinese imports, and on recent data showing a bigger than expected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week.
Renewed concerns about geopolitical tensions contributed as well to the rise in oil prices. A stalemate in ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas following Israel's continued aggression, and Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine has raised concerns about potential supply disruptions.
Data showing a much bigger jump in U.S. jobless claims in the week ended May 4th has raised the possibility of the Federal Reserve reducing interest rates by September.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended higher by $0.27 at $79.26 a barrel.
Brent crude futures were up $0.50 or 0.6% at $84.08 a barrel a little while ago.
China's exports and imports rebounded more than expected in April after a weak trade data in the previous month that boost hopes that net trade would support economic growth, official data revealed Thursday.
Largely due to the lower base of comparison, exports advanced 1.5% on a yearly basis in April, the customs office reported. This was faster than the 1% expected growth and reversed March's 7.5% decrease.
Imports posted an annual increase of 8.4% after a 1.9% drop in March. This was also bigger than economists' forecast of 5.4%.
Customs data showed earlier today that shipments of crude in April to China totaled 44.72 million metric tons, or about 10.88 million bpd - up 5.45% from a year earlier.
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