DTN Oil Update
Oil Futures Rallied Tracking API, China's Manufacturing Data
HOUSTON (DTN) -- Oil futures rallied on Thursday, the first trading session of 2025, due to low crude stocks reported last week and tracked China's manufacturing data showing a third consecutive month of expansion.
The February NYMEX WTI futures contract rose $1.14 to $72.86 bbl, the highest level since Oct. 11, when it was at $72.85 bbl. Meanwhile, the front-month ICE Brent futures contract rose by $1.09 to $75.73 bbl, recording a four-month high. The January ULSD futures contract was up by $0.0236 to $2.3400 gallon and the January RBOB futures contract rose by $0.0346 to $2.0438 gallon.
On Tuesday, Dec. 31, American Petroleum Institute data showed commercial crude oil inventories dropped 1.442 million bbl during the week ended Dec. 27. Gasoline and distillate fuel inventory rose 2.163 million bbl and 5.719 million bbl, respectively, in the same reference week. â?¯
Meanwhile, the Caixin China General Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index PMI released on Thursday, came in at 50.5 in December, compared with 51.5 in November. The independent sector survey showed that activity in China's manufacturing sector expanded at a slower pace in the last month of 2024 due to lower exports affecting overall demand, according to Caixin Global's website.
This week, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that China's economy has rebounded and is on an upward trajectory, with the national GDP expected to surpass 130 trillion yuan, about $18.08 trillion, Chinese news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday.
But Jinping also warned that the Chinese economy faces "challenges of uncertainties in the external environment and pressure of transformation from old growth drivers into new ones," according to the same report.
President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn for a second term on Jan. 20, and his economic agenda contemplates imposing a 60% trade tariff on products manufactured in China.
In 2025, oil markets will continue focusing on the economic recovery of China, the main importer of crude in the world, after global oil demand remained dormant during last year keeping crude and fuel prices low.
Tighter sanctions on Russian oil and gas are anticipated in 2025, as a result of the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in recent weeks, which will contribute to put upward pressure on oil futures due to global supply tightness expectations.
On Wednesday, Ukraine halted Russian gas supplies to European customers through its pipeline network after a prewar transit deal expired at the end of 2024, according to AP.
Maria Eugenia Garcia can be reached at Maria.Garcia@dtn.com
