Brent oil rises to $63.00 on upbeat China factory data
|- Brent is trading in the green, currently chipping away at the psychological hurdle of $63.00.
- An above-forecast China factory data signaled the economic slowdown is likely not as steep as expected by many.
Brent oil is currently trading at $63.00 per barrel, having clocked a low of $62.25 earlier today.
Prices had dipped in early Asia on fears that the world's second-largest economy may have suffered a deeper economic slowdown in the fourth quarter of 2018.
The data, however, showed that the annualized fourth-quarter growth rate slowed to 6.4 percent, as expected. More importantly, industrial production in December rose 5.7 percent year-on-year, beating the estimate of 5.3 percent by a big margin, signaling markets that the economic situation isn't as bad as forecasted by many.
Consequently, oil picked up a bid and jumped to a session high of $63.00.
Looking forward, oil may remain bid on growing speculation that the output cuts initiated by OPEC will soon push the market back into supply deficit.
Also, the US oil output could slowdown in the near future. The Baker Hughes data released on Friday showed energy firms cut 21 oil rigs in the seven days to Jan. 18, taking the total count down to 852, the lowest since May 2018, according to Reuters.
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