Oil prices were mixed in Asian trade today with cold weather in the United States pushing the demand for heating fuel higher and credit growth in China also giving support.
Investors, however, were awaiting further fresh leads following the closure of US financial markets on Monday due to a public holiday.
New York’s main contract West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for March delivery was trading at $100.69 a barrel in the late morning, up 39 cents from Friday’s close.
US markets were closed yesterday for Presidents’ Day.
European benchmark Brent North Sea crude for April eased 12 cents to $109.06.
“Right now we are looking at a rise in China’s credit growth being a surprise on the upside alongside the persistent cold in the US giving a near term support for WTI benchmark,” Desmond Chua, market analyst at CMC markets in Singapore, said.
Loans by Chinese banks reached around 1.3 trillion yuan ($214 billion) in January, up 246.9 billion yuan from the same month a year ago, the People’s Bank of China said during the week-end. The January lending figure beat analyst estimates.
The United States is currently enduring an especially bitter winter, with the midwestern and southern states experiencing unusually low temperatures, driving up the demand for heating fuels, of which crude oil is a feedstock.
Meanwhile, investors are waiting for banking giant HSBC’s purchasing manager’s index (PMI) data for February from China due to be released on Thursday for clues on the health of the world’s second biggest economy.