Oil edged higher as further intervention by China to support its flagging property market bolstered sentiment across financial assets.
(Bloomberg) — Oil edged higher as further intervention by China to support its flagging property market bolstered sentiment across financial assets.
West Texas Intermediate traded above $80 a barrel after gaining 1.5% over the past three days, the longest run of gains since late July. China’s largest banks are preparing to cut interest rates on existing mortgages and deposits, the latest state-directed measures to shore up growth in the world’s second-largest economy.
After pulling back from a multi-month high, crude has traded around $80 a barrel in recent weeks.
The country’s biggest refiner, Sinopec, said that the nation’s product demand in the second half would expand at a slower pace than in the first. In the US, meanwhile, there are expectations that the Federal Reserve isn’t yet done with its campaign of monetary tightening to quell too-hot inflation.
OPEC+ producers are continuing to withhold supply from the market, while refined products are also trading at giant premiums to crude as the US tropical storm season picks up.
“The oil market remains rangebound with underlying support stemming from continued tightness across fuel products,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodities strategy at Saxo Bank. “A strong Asian session is supporting sentiment today, but overall the market is in no hurry to go anywhere in the short term.”
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–With assistance from Yongchang Chin.
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