SINGAPORE
(Reuters) - Crude oil futures edged up on Monday, buoyed by healthy
Asian appetite and demand from the U.S. driving season.
Front-month Brent
crude prices had gained 2 cents to $65.39 per barrel by 0312 GMT. U.S.
crude prices were up 14 cents at $59.86 a barrel.
"Global oil demand continues to surprise to the upside,
with April data showing no signs of slowdown despite a pick-up in
prices," Energy Aspects said.
Japan's customs-cleared crude oil imports rose 9.1
percent to 3.62 million barrels per day (17.28 million kilolitres) in
April from the same month a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance said
on Monday.
In China, crude imports hit a record 7.4 million
barrels per day in April despite a slowing economy, driven largely by
healthy car sales.
"We expect Chinese imports to be high in H2 15,
potentially averaging 7.5 million barrels per day. This is due to the
start-up of 39 mb (million barrels) of commercial storage, five SPR
(strategic petroleum reserve) sites and linefill for Kunming
refinery—buying for which is ongoing we believe, even though the
refinery won't start up till early 2016," Energy Aspects said.
In the United States, the peak summer driving season
officially starts with Memorial Day on Monday, and the American
Automobile Association said road travel was expected to reach a 10-year
high over the Memorial Day weekend, suggesting strong fuel consumption
over the next three days.
In oil exporting Libya, warplanes from the official
government attacked an oil tanker docked outside the city of Sirte on
Sunday, wounding three people and setting the ship on fire, officials
said.
It was the third confirmed strike by the
internationally recognised government on oil tankers, part of a conflict
between competing administrations and parliaments allied to armed
factions fighting for control of the country four years after the
ousting of Muammar Gaddafi.
Analysts said that steeper increases in oil prices were prevented by weak overall fundamentals.
"The overall fundamentals still point to a
well-supplied market, a fact that should continue to put a ceiling on
prices," Barclays said.
Singapore-based Phillip Futures said that it expected
WTI and Brent July 2015 contracts to remain above $58.49 and $64.35
respectively, provided oil fundamentals do not change.
(Editing by Joseph Radford)
Reuters by Henning Gloystein
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