Investing.com - Crude prices shrugged off a soft U.S. inventory report on rose on Wednesday on the coattails of robust Chinese import data.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in March traded at USD100.43 a barrel during U.S. trading, up 0.52%. New York-traded oil futures hit a session low of USD99.92 a barrel and a high of USD101.38 a barrel.
The March contract settled down 0.12% at USD99.94 a barrel on Tuesday.
Nymex oil futures were likely to find support at USD99.11 a barrel, Monday's low, and resistance at USD102.95 a barrel, the high from Oct. 16.
Data released earlier revealed that China’s trade surplus widened to USD31.86 billion last month from a surplus of USD25.6 billion in December, beating estimates for a USD23.65 billion surplus.
Chinese exports climbed 10.6% from a year earlier, beating expectations for a 2% increase and following a 4.3% gain in December. Imports rose 10%, compared to forecasts for a 3% increase.
According to the report, China imported a record-high 28.16 million metric tons of crude oil in January, equivalent to 6.66 million barrels a day.
China is the world's second largest oil consumer after the U.S. and has been the engine of strengthening demand.
OPEC, meanwhile, said world oil demand should grow at a slightly faster rate than previously expected in 2014. They cartel now sees growth of 1.09 million barrels a day, up from a previous estimate of 1.05 million barrels per day, which bolstered prices.
Markets shrugged off lackluster supply data out of the U.S.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 3.3 million barrels in the week ended Feb. 7 compared to expectations for an increase of 2.7 million barrels.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 361.4 million barrels as of last week.
The report also showed that total motor gasoline inventories decreased by 1.9 million barrels, compared to forecasts for a drop of 50,000 barrels, while distillate stockpiles declined by 731,000 barrels.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for April delivery were up 0.22% and trading at 108.42 a barrel, while the spread between the Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at 8.36 a barrel.