Investing.com — Oil prices edged higher on Thursday as upbeat U.S. economic sentiment eased jitters about the health of the economy, just as the Federal Reserve is widely expected to hike interest rates next month.
At 2:30 PM ET (18:30 GMT), the stock rose 1.5% to $80.99 per barrel, while it rose 1.5% to $78.16 per barrel.
US retail sales surprise on the upside to ease recession concerns
U.S. retail sales rose more than expected in July, pointing to the resilience of consumer spending and the potential for a soft landing.
rose 1% last month, above expected growth of 0.4%, and accelerating from an unchanged reading in June, according to Commerce Department data released earlier Thursday.
The prospect of lower rates led to expectations that U.S. economic conditions will improve in coming months, boosting demand from the world’s largest fuel consumer at a time when weekly inventories point to slowing summer demand.
Data on Wednesday showed an unexpected increase in the US of about 1.4 million barrels, compared to expectations of a decline of 1.9 million barrels.
Mixed Chinese economic data provide some support
A slew of economic data from China offered some positive signals to oil markets on Thursday.
grew more than expected in July, with the increase coming after Beijing introduced a raft of interest rate cuts and measures to stimulate consumption.
But the Chinese grew less than expected, just like the Chinese economy. China’s also rose unexpectedly.
Slowing Chinese demand has been a major source of concern for crude oil markets, especially as the country struggles with a flagging economic recovery.
Both have downgraded their outlook for oil demand growth in 2024, citing concerns about slowing demand from China’s biggest oil importer.
(Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)
