BERLIN: : Oil prices have steadied due to strong economic data from Germany, as well as a rise in Chinese crude imports year-on-year offseting concerns over Asia’s economic growth and the global oversupply.
Brent futures increased 59 cents to $48.22 a barrel, while the US crude stood at $44.75 a barrel, down $1.30, Reuters reported.
During July, exports in Germany increased 2.4% to €103.4bn ($115.6bn) while imports rose by 2.2% to €80.6bn.
Crude oil imports in China slipped 13.4% in August to 26.59 million tonnes from July, increasing 5.6% from a year earlier.
Commerzbank senior oil analyst Carsten Fritsch told the news agency: “People are looking beyond the sharp (monthly) drop in Chinese import data and looking at the stronger details contained within it.”
China’s crude imports during the initial eight months increased 9.8% year-on-year at 6.63 million bpd, lending weight to the oil prices.
Oil prices have witnessed a fall by almost 60% since June 2014 on a global supply glut primarily due to high oil production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and from increased levels of US production.
Crude production from Saudi Arabia is expected to remain at current levels in the fourth quarter despite calls from some OPEC members for a reduction in OPEC output.
