By V. Phani Kumar and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures posted modest gains on Thursday as Chinese data signaled some improvement in conditions for the country’s manufacturers and as investors awaited clues on the recovery in the U.S.
Light, sweet crude-oil futures for delivery in December CLZ2 +0.15% climbed 17 cents, or 0.1%, to $86.32 a barrel, building on a 56-cent increase overnight in a regular session on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The advance follows a loss of about 6.5% for the commodity in October, and came in the wake of some positive manufacturing data out of China that signaled a continued recovery. See: China PMI surveys point to recovery.
Most of the major Asian stock markets rose in the wake of the data, with China’s Shanghai Composite rising 1.7%, while Japanese and Taiwanese stocks reversed early losses to end higher. Read: Asia Markets.
European markets were also on the rise with the Stoxx Europe 600 index XX:SXXP +0.63% up 0.6% to 271.81. See: Improving China data support European markets.
U.S. stock futures pointed to a mixed open on Wall Street ahead of a key survey of manufacturers and labor data. See: Stock futures drift ahead of ISM-led data deluge.
“We are confident that oil prices will make further gains in the coming days; after all, if economic indicators stabilize or improve, hopes of a revival of oil demand will also increase,” analysts at Commerzbank said in a note.
“Consequently, this afternoon’s economic data are likely to be more important than the U.S. inventory data, which are likewise due for delayed publication,” they said.
Elsewhere in the energy complex, December futures for natural gas NGZ12 +0.89% gained 1% to $3.86 per million British thermal units and gasoline for the same month RBZ2 +0.40% added 0.2% to $2.63 per gallon.
Heating-oil futures for delivery in December HOZ2 -1.01% dropped 1% to $3.03 a gallon.
Varahabhotla Phani Kumar is a reporter in MarketWatch's Hong Kong bureau.
Sara Sjolin is a MarketWatch reporter, based in London.
