Brent crude reversed early losses to trade back towards $57 a barrel on Tuesday, as a weaker dollar overshadowed signs of slowing growth in China and Saudi Arabian oil production close to an all-time high.
The dollar slipped 0.25 percent against the euro, extending losses from the previous session and providing a boost to dollar-priced commodities, which tend to move inversely to the U.S. currency.
Brent futures LCOc1 for May delivery were trading up 64 cents at $56.56 by 0620 EDT, while U.S. crude CLc1 rose 60 cents to $48.05 a barrel. Its discount to Brent CL-LCO1=R widened to $8.51 a barrel.
Gains were capped by data showing factory activity in China, the world’s second-largest economy and top oil importer, slipped in March.
The flash HSBC/Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index came in at 49.2, below the 50-point level that separates growth from contraction. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a reading of 50.6.
The Chinese data followed comments from OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia that it is pumping around 10 million barrels of crude per day, close to an all-time high and some 350,000 bpd above the figure it gave OPEC for its February output.
OPEC’s decision to fight for market share rather than cutting output has contributed to a halving in oil prices since June as the global surplus of oil supplies has grown.
via Reuters
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