West Texas Intermediate oil rose from a two-week low after stronger-than-expected Chinese trade data bolstered the economic outlook in the world’s second biggest crude user. London-traded Brent’s premium to WTI expanded a eighth day to the widest in more than a month. Futures advanced as much as 0.4 percent, trimming the first weekly decline in nine. China’s exports in January climbed 25 percent year-on-year, beating the 17.5 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. Imports were up 28.8 percent. Oil markets will remain tight in the first quarter, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. “This is the strongest showing of China’s export growth since last April and bodes well for China’s demand growth for energy going forward,� said Gordon Kwan, the head of energy research at Mirae Asset Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong who predicts “technical buying� may push Brent as high as $120 a barrel in coming days. “We continue to forecast a sustained high oil price.� Crude for March delivery gained as much as 35 cents to $96.18 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $96.14 at 11:43 a.m. Singapore time. The contract slid 79 cents to $95.83 yesterday, the lowest since Jan. 25. The volume of all contracts traded was 4 percent above the 100-day average. Prices are down 1.6 percent this week, after advancing 14 percent over the past eight weeks. Brent for March settlement climbed 55 cents to $117.79 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, advancing for a fourth day. Trading volume was 141 percent higher than the average. The European benchmark grade was at a premium of $21.65 to WTI futures, expanding for the eighth day. It closed yesterday at $21.41, the widest since Dec. 14. China Imports, Exports China’s exports rose more than estimated in January, which had five more working days than the same month last year. Oil purchases increased 7.4 percent from a year ago to 25.15 million metric tons, according to data published today on the website of the Beijing-based General Administration of Customs. Brent’s advance to more than $117 a barrel has been driven by improving fundamentals rather than increasing risk premium, Stefan Wieler, an analyst with Goldman Sachs in New York, said in a report dated yesterday. The oil market will “remain tight� through the first quarter of 2013, he said. The gap between WTI and Brent has grown since Enterprise Product Partners LP said Jan. 31 that capacity on its Seaway pipeline to the Gulf Coast from Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for New York-crude, will be limited until late 2013. Saudi Output Brent extended gains yesterday as Saudi Arabia was said to have produced 9.05 million barrels a day in January, near the level of December when output reached the lowest in 20 months. While keeping production stable, Saudi Arabia supplied 9.26 million barrels a day to the market, compared with 9.15 million the previous month, said the official with knowledge of the country’s oil policy who spoke on condition of anonymity. The difference of 210,000 barrels between supply to market in January and production figures is made up for by deliveries from inventories, he said. Oil may fall next week as technical indicators signal that prices may have risen too quickly to be sustainable and as equities come under downward pressure, a Bloomberg survey showed. Eighteen of 37 analysts and traders, or 49 percent, forecast crude will decline through Feb. 15. Twelve respondents, or 32 percent, predicted an increase and seven forecast little change. Last week, 42 percent projected a gain. The relative-strength index of front-month oil futures rose above 74 at settlement on Jan. 30, the highest level since Feb. 24, 2012. The RSI was at 58 today. To contact the reporters on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at bsharples@bloomberg.net; Ramsey Al-Rikabi in Singapore at ralrikabi@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net

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