Forexpros – Crude oil futures were higher during European morning trade on Monday, as investors shrugged off concerns over the global economic outlook and focused on hopes for fresh stimulus measures instead.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in September traded at USD93.28 a barrel during European morning trade, adding 0.45%.
Earlier in the day, prices rose by as much as 0.9% to trade at a session high of USD93.72 a barrel. Prices hit a three-month high of USD94.69 a barrel on August 8.
Preliminary data released earlier in the day showed that Japan’s economy grew by a modest 0.3% in the April-to-June period, disappointing expectations for a 0.6% increase.
On an annualized basis, the country’s gross domestic product rose 1.4% in the second quarter, below forecasts for growth of 2.3% and slowing sharply from an upwardly revised 5.5% in the preceding quarter.
The report came after data on Friday showed that Chinese exports grew just 1.0% on the year in July, down sharply from the 11.3% gain seen in June, while imports rose 4.7% year-over-year, down from 6.3% in June.
Despite the gloomy global outlook, oil markets have been bullish lately, with New York-traded crude prices are up nearly 17.5% since touching a low of USD77.27 a barrel on June 28.
Prices have been well-supported amid ongoing expectations that central banks around the world would soon announce additional stimulus measures to help spur weak global growth.
The Federal Reserve has said it stands prepared to intervene while European Central Bank President Mario Draghi has said monetary policy officials will do whatever it takes to bolster the economy.
Renewed fears over escalating violence in Syria and lingering tensions between Iran and the West have also been supporting prices in recent weeks.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for October delivery rose 0.6% to trade at USD111.80 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD18.52.
London-traded Brent prices touched USD113.52 on Friday, the highest since May 10.
Brent prices have been well-supported in recent weeks, rallying nearly 20% from the lows touched in June, amid growing concerns over tightening supplies from the North Sea region and following the launch of Western-led sanctions targeting Iranian oil exports on July 1.
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