Oil prices rose on Monday as China’s plans to ship in large volumes of US crude in August and September outweighed concerns over a slowdown in demand recovery after the coronavirus pandemic and an uptick in supplies.
Brent crude added 30 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to $45.10 a barrel by 0410 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 34 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $42.35 a barrel.
Chinese state-owned oil firms have tentatively booked tankers to transport at least 20 million barrels of US crude for August and September, Reuters reported on Friday, as China ramped up energy and farm purchases ahead of a review of the Sino-US trade deal.
