Mubasher: Oil prices rose earlier on Monday after data indicated that refinery processing in China hit a record last year amidst a slowing economy.

Prices were generally buoyed by supply curbs led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), according to analysts.

At 7:26 am GMT, global benchmark Brent traded at $62.77 per barrel (pb), 0.1% from its prior session, as US Nymex crude went up 0.2% to $53.92 pb.

However, by 8:11 am GMT, Brent futures declined 0.19% to $62.58 pb, while Nymex crude futures went up 0.06% to $53.77 pb.

Crude markets were supported after data released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed crude oil refinery runs jumped to a record 603.57 million tonnes last year, an equivalent to 12.1 million barrels per day (bpd), rising 6.8% from the prior year.

This indicated a solid demand despite China’s economic growth slowed down last year to the weakest in 28 years, at 6.6%, compared with 6.8% in the previous year.

“The global outlook remains murky, despite emerging positives from a dovish Fed [now boosting US mortgage applications], faster China easing [China credit growth stabilizing] and a more durable US-China truce,” JP Morgan said in a note.

OPEC-led supply cuts “will move the market back into supply deficit” for most of this year, pushing prices to $70 pb ahead of year-end, Bernstein researchers told Thomson Reuters.

Moreover, US drillers lowered the number of rigs in the week ended 18 January to a total of 852, the lowest figure since May 2018, according to energy service firm Baker Hughes’ data released on Friday.

Nevertheless, US crude output remained at a record 11.9 million bpd, climbing 2 million bpd last year.

As the rig count stalled, the growth rate seen last year is not likely to be repeated this year, although most analysts expect annual production to average well above 12 million bpd, which would make the US the world’s biggest oil producer.