Crude futures rose on Wednesday for the first time in eight days, with U.S. oil pulling further away from the widely watched $30-per-barrel level breached the previous session, as Chinese data showed record imports in December.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) was up 26 cents at $30.70 a barrel at 0608 GMT. On Tuesday, it fell 97 cents to close at $30.44 a barrel, after touching a low of $29.93, which was last seen in December 2003.
Brent crude , the global benchmark, was up 20 cents at $31.06 a barrel. The contract fell 69 cents to settle at $30.86, after bottoming at $30.34, on Tuesday.
The $30 mark is both a psychological and financial threshold and, in recent days, traders have poured money into $30 put options for expiration in February and March.
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