Oil is up but on track for a weekly loss as inventories grow
Crude benchmarks are set for second weekly decline as Chinese refinery throughput hit a record high in September
London — Oil prices rose on Friday on signs of surging demand in China, the world’s second-biggest oil consumer, although the market was heading for a second week of losses on concern that trade wars were curbing economic activity, as well as rising US inventories. Benchmark Brent crude oil was up 20c a barrel at $79.49 by 7.40am GMT. US light crude was 15c higher at $68.80. For the week, Brent crude was 1% lower while US crude was down 3.5%, both on track for a second consecutive weekly decline. Refinery throughput in China, the world’s largest oil importer, rose to a record high of 12.49-million barrels per day (bpd) in September as some independent plants restarted operations after prolonged shutdowns over the summer to shore up inventories, government data showed on Friday. China’s refinery consumption may now be rising as several state-owned refiners return to service after maintenance. Undermining sentiment were official figures showing China’s economic growth slowed in the th...
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