Market News
Oil settles up on signs of strong demand, investors await OPEC+ decision - REUTERS
By Shariq Khan
Summary
- Oil rises on positive demand indicators from China, Saudi, Russia
- OPEC+ meets on July 6, expected to hike August output by 411,000 bpd
- Investors also watching for developments in US trade talks
NEW YORK, July 1 (Reuters) - Oil prices edged higher on Tuesday as investors took stock of positive demand indicators, while also treading cautiously ahead of an OPEC+ meeting to decide the group's August output policy.
Brent crude settled up 37 cents, or 0.6%, at $67.11 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled 34 cents higher, or up around 0.5%, at $65.45 a barrel.
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The gains were likely due to supportive data from a private-sector survey in China, which showed factory activity returned to expansion in June, said Randall Rothenberg, a risk intelligence expert at U.S. oil brokerage Liquidity Energy.
Expectations that Saudi Arabia will raise its August crude oil prices for buyers in Asia to a four-month high as well as firm premiums for Russian ESPO Blend crude oil were also supporting the notion of robust demand, Rothenberg said.
