Oil edges up on Chinese demand, but weekly losses loom

Oil prices edged up on Friday, helped by rising Chinese crude demand and threats of a strike in Africa’s largest oil exporter.

But prices were still on track for their largest weekly loss since early October amid concerns that rising U.S. production would undermine OPEC-led supply cuts aimed at curbing a glut.

By 1039 GMT, Brent crude was up 39 cents at $62.59 a barrel, but still heading for a weekly slide of 1.8 percent.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $56.07 a barrel, up 38 cents from their last settlement. The contract was on track for a 2.2 percent loss on the week.

China’s crude oil imports rose to 9.01 million barrels per day (bpd), the second highest on record, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Friday.

Booming demand will push China ahead of the United States as the world’s biggest crude importer this year.

U.S. investment bank Jefferies forecast 2018 global oil demand growth of 1.5 million bpd, driven by almost 10 percent demand growth in China.