Oil futures prices lifted as rig count sparks late-week rally.

摘要

US West Texas Intermethate (WTT) and UK Brent crude oil benchmark prices mostly fell during the week to May 25, before soaring at the end of the period on data showing another weekly rig count drop, indicating mat the slump in US production activity has not yet run its course. Trading was scarce on Monday, due to a closed market in the US for the Memorial Day holiday and a bank holiday in much of Europe, but Brent prices inched up on bullish demand data. Reports showed that China imported a record-high 7.4MM b/d of crude oil in April, while Japan saw April year-on-year crude imports soar 9.1% to 3.62MM b/d. "Global oil demand continues to surprise to the upside, with April data showing no signs of slowdown despite a pick-up in prices," stated Energy Aspects. However, others noted, the global supply-demand structure remains unbalanced. "The overall fundamentals still point to a well-supplied market, a fact mat should continue to put a ceiling on prices," noted Barclays.