(Reuters) – Oil prices climbed 1% on Wednesday as market participants anticipated a rise in demand from top importer China following Beijing’s latest plans to boost economic growth.
Brent crude futures gained 75 cents, or 1.04%%, to $72.94 a barrel by 1011 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 75 cents, or 1.09%, to $69.34.
China said on Monday it would adopt an “appropriately loose” monetary policy in 2025 as Beijing tries to spur its economy with the first easing of its stance in 14 years.
“While past efforts have focused on sectors like electric vehicles and infrastructure, there are expectations that China may shift toward policies to boost consumer spending,” said Li Xing Gan, financial markets strategist consultant to Exness.
“This has sparked optimism in the oil market, with traders hopeful that these initiatives could drive higher oil consumption,” Gan said.
Chinese crude imports grew annually for the first time in seven months in November, up more than 14% from a year earlier.
Meanwhile the Kremlin said that reports of a possible tightening of U.S. sanctions on Russian oil suggested the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden wants to leave a difficult legacy for U.S.-Russia relations.
Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday that the U.S. government was weighing harsher sanctions against Russia’s lucrative oil trade, seeking to tighten the squeeze on the Kremlin’s war machine just weeks before Donald Trump returns to the White House.
“It looks as if the Biden administration is trying to run interference with the idea that on gaining the keys to the White House, Donald Trump will put pressure on Ukraine to settle the war with Russia,” noted John Evans, analyst with oil broker PVM.
In the U.S., crude oil and fuel stocks rose last week, market sources said on Tuesday, citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday.
Crude stocks rose by 499,000 barrels in the week ended on Dec. 6, the sources said on condition of anonymity. Gasoline inventories rose by 2.85 million barrels, and distillate stocks rose by 2.45 million barrels, they said.
Official data on oil stocks from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is due on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. ET (1530 GMT). Analysts polled by Reuters expect a 900,000-barrel decline in crude and a 1.7 million-barrel increase in gasoline.
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