U.S. crude oil futures were little changed Thursday, halting six days of gains, after reports that China, the world’s top importer, cut the first batch of crude import allocations for 2022, offsetting the impact of U.S. data on Wednesday showing fuel demand had held up despite soaring Omicron coronavirus infections.
S&P Global Platts, citing refining sources, said that China’s Ministry of Commerce has issued 107.4 million metric tons in crude import quotas, falling 9.4% from the same batch in 2021.
Against that backdrop, West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery
CLG22,
CL00,
was trading 15 cents, or 0.2%, higher to reach $76.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after the U.S. benchmark rose 0.8% on Wednesday. The contract had posted its longest string of gains since Feb. 10, according to Dow Jones Market Data when the market rose for eight sessions in a row.
February Brent crude
BRNG22,
shed 9 cents, or 0.1%, at $79.12 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, after rising 0.4% to the highest price since Nov. 25 for the global benchmark.
U.S. Energy Information Administration data on Wednesday showed crude oil inventories fell by 3.6 million barrels in the week to Dec. 24. Gasoline and distillate inventories also fell, indicating demand remained strong despite record COVID-19 cases in the United States.
Global oil prices have rebounded by between 50% and 60% in 2021 as fuel demand recovered to near pre-pandemic levels and output management by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) for most of the year erased a supply glut.
OPEC+ will meet on Jan. 4 to decide whether to continue increasing output in February.
