![\"Oil-reaching-$70-as-China-energy-demand-outlook-brightens-rapidnews\"](\"https:\/\/dailyrapidnews.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Oil-reaching-70-as-China-energy-demand-outlook-brightens-rapidnews-dailyrapid.jpg\")
<\/p>\nOil prices stood steady on Monday, with Brent reaching $70 a barrel, as data showed China\u2019s economic recovery accelerated at the start of 2021, boosting the energy demand outlook at the world\u2019s largest oil importer.<\/p>\n
Brent crude futures for May were steady at $69.21, down $0.01 a barrel by 1150 GMT while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for April was at $65.62 a barrel, up $0.01.<\/p>\n
China\u2019s industrial output growth quickened in January-February, beating expectations, while its daily refinery throughput data rose 15% from the same period a year earlier, data showed.<\/p>\n
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There is increasing confidence that the global oil demand is rebounding as US Covid-19 death toll is decreasing while China\u2019s apparent oil demand rebounded.<\/p>\n
Market structure which encourages prompt consumption of oil, a pact by top producers to keep output largely reined in and a rebound in demand due to vaccine rollouts will keep pushing prices upwards despite any temporary setbacks, analysts said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFutures spreads remain in backwardation, and dips in prices remain shallow and short-lived,\u201d said Oanda senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley. \u201cBoth (benchmarks) will find a procession of willing buyers if those regions are visited.\u201d<\/p>\n
The supply cuts come as the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, decided earlier this month to extend most of its supply cuts into April.<\/p>\n
Further supporting prices, top oil exporter Saudi Arabia has cut the supply of April-loading crude to at least four north Asian buyers by up to 15%, while meeting the normal monthly requirements of Indian refiners, refinery sources told Reuters on Friday.<\/p>\n
Earlier in February, the United States overtook Saudi Arabia to be India\u2019s second-largest supplier, data from trade sources showed.<\/p>\n
Separately, US energy firms have cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs in the first weekly drop since November, according to Baker Hughes Co.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Oil prices stood steady on Monday, with Brent reaching $70 a barrel, as data showed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\n