Oil advanced from the lowest close in three weeks in New York after Germany exports unexpectedly rose in October and China processed a record volume of crude last month. OPEC meets this week to discuss its output quota.
Futures climbed as much as 0.7 percent as exports gained 0.3 percent from September in Germany, the biggest oil consumer in the European Union. China’s net crude imports increased to the highest in six months in November as the volume processed at the nation’s refineries rose to a record, according to the General Administration of Customs. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will probably leave its production quota unchanged when it meets Dec. 12, a Bloomberg survey showed.
“Germany’s export growth was encouraging as expectations were for a contraction,” Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital in London, said by phone. “Germany is the key driver of the European economy.”
Crude for January delivery rose as much as 56 cents to $86.49 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $86.37 at 9:43 a.m. London time. The contract dropped 33 cents on Dec. 7 to $85.93, the lowest close since Nov. 15. Prices slid 3.4 percent last week and are down 13 percent this year.
Brent for January settlement climbed as much as 73 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $107.75 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark crude’s premium to New York-traded West Texas Intermediate grade widened for a second day to $21.28.
