Mubasher: Oil prices rose on Wednesday, supported by signs of strong demand from refiners in China, the world’s second biggest crude consumer, and a surprise drop in US stockpiles, according to Reuters.

By 10:04 am GMT, US Nymex crude futures climbed 0.67% to $64.48 per barrel (pb), while global benchmark Brent futures rose 0.66% to $72.19 pb.

Chinese refinery throughput last March climbed 3.2% year-on-year to 53.04 million tonnes, or 12.49 million barrels per day (bpd), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported on Wednesday.

In addition, official data showed that the Chinese economy grew by 6.4% in the first quarter of the year, which, despite slower than the growth figure recorded in the same quarter a year earlier, came above forecasts.

“The demand side of the equation got a substantial fillip via today’s China data suggesting prices will continue to move higher on improving global growth and risk sentiment,” SPI Asset Management trading head Stephen Innes was quoted by Reuters.

The solid demand growth in China co-occurs at the time when global supplies are tightened by an agreement between members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, aiming to withhold their output by 1.2 million bpd.

OPEC and its partners are due to meet next June to decide whether to keep supply curbs in place, amid worries over Russia’s intent to continue its cuts.

Russia’s Gazprom Neft expected that the agreement between the producer club members and non-affiliated producers, an alliance known as OPEC+, will end in the first half of this year, Reuters reported on Tuesday citing, a source in the oil giant.

In the same vein, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported on Tuesday that US crude inventories fell by 3.1 million barrels to 452.7 million in the week ended 12 April.

The Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) official figures pertaining US crude inventories are due to be released later in the day.