WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices were moving higher on Thursday, the first day of trade for 2025. The uptrend was supported by expectations that economic stimulus efforts will prompt a recovery in China, the world's second-largest economy.
Benchmark Brent crude futures edged up by 0.4 percent to $74.90 in European trade, while WTI crude futures were up 0.2 percent at $71.84.
Investors eye a recovery in China's economy and fuel demand following a pledge by President Xi Jinping to promote growth.
China's economy was 'overall stable and progressing amid stability,' Xi said at a new year event on Tuesday, according to a speech published by the official Xinhua News Agency.
Reaffirming the official GDP target of around 5 percent for the full year of 2024, Xi sought to allay fears that the world's second-largest economy would falter over the next 12 months in the face of some new situations, challenges from the uncertainty of the external environment and pressure of transformation from old drivers of growth into new ones.
Signs of lower U.S. stockpiles also helped lift oil prices. A report from the American Petroleum Institute showed that nationwide inventories fell by 1.4 million barrels last week.
If confirmed by government figures later today, it would be a sixth straight weekly draw.
Meanwhile, Ukraine on Wednesday halted Russian gas supplies to European customers through its pipeline network after a pre-war transit deal expired at the end of 2024.
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