Investing.com - Oil futures moved higher in the early part of Monday’s Asian session, rebounding from a downbeat finish to last week.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in February climbed 0.51% to USD94.47 per barrel in Asian trading Monday. Monday’s bullishness follows a 0.1% loss in the U.S. last Friday, but crude futures gained 0.7% for the week and that was good for the fifth consecutive weekly gain.
Robust Chinese trade data further supported gains. Chinese exports grew 14.1% from a year earlier in December, blowing past expectations for a 5% gain and up from a 2.9% increase in November.
In the week ahead, oil traders will be focused on several important economic data points scheduled to be released in the U.S. Those reports include housing starts numbers and the Philadelphia Federal Reserve factory activity index due out on Thursday and the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment number slated to be released Friday.
Other important data points scheduled to be released this week that could move oil prices include Eurozone industrial production and a spate of consumer price index reports from Eurozone nations on Tuesday.
Oil traders will be anticipating a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on monetary policy and the recovery from the global financial crisis on Monday. In addition to that, China’s fourth-quarter GDP report is due out later this week.
China’s GDP report combine with the various U.S. economic could lead to some increased volatility in oil prices this week because the U.S. and China are the world’s two largest oil consumers.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for February delivery added 0.16% to USD109.95 per barrel. Brent’s high of the Asian session thus far is USD109.96 while the low is USD109.73.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in February climbed 0.51% to USD94.47 per barrel in Asian trading Monday. Monday’s bullishness follows a 0.1% loss in the U.S. last Friday, but crude futures gained 0.7% for the week and that was good for the fifth consecutive weekly gain.
Robust Chinese trade data further supported gains. Chinese exports grew 14.1% from a year earlier in December, blowing past expectations for a 5% gain and up from a 2.9% increase in November.
In the week ahead, oil traders will be focused on several important economic data points scheduled to be released in the U.S. Those reports include housing starts numbers and the Philadelphia Federal Reserve factory activity index due out on Thursday and the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment number slated to be released Friday.
Other important data points scheduled to be released this week that could move oil prices include Eurozone industrial production and a spate of consumer price index reports from Eurozone nations on Tuesday.
Oil traders will be anticipating a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on monetary policy and the recovery from the global financial crisis on Monday. In addition to that, China’s fourth-quarter GDP report is due out later this week.
China’s GDP report combine with the various U.S. economic could lead to some increased volatility in oil prices this week because the U.S. and China are the world’s two largest oil consumers.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for February delivery added 0.16% to USD109.95 per barrel. Brent’s high of the Asian session thus far is USD109.96 while the low is USD109.73.