Oil rises for 4th day as supply disruptions, China demand supports

Oil edged up in early trade on Thursday, extending gains for a fourth consecutive day, as crude loading disruptions in Turkey and optimism over China’s recovering demand continued to buoy sentiment.

Brent crude futures rose 14 cents, or 0.2 per cent to $85.26 a barrel by 0239 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures firmed 11 cents, or 0.2 per cent higher, to $78.58 a barrel.

Both benchmarks have gained more than 6 per cent so far this week.

BP Azerbaijan declared force majeure on Azeri crude shipments from the Turkish port of Ceyhan on February 7 after a massive earthquake struck Turkey and Syria early on Monday. The disaster halted operations at Ceyhan and disrupted crude oil flows from Iraq and Azerbaijan.