Oil prices rise supported by Chinese import data

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices rose today, April 14, supported by Chinese data showing a sharp rebound in Beijing's crude oil imports in March, as well as by an easing of global trade tensions after Trump exempted some electronics imports from tariffs.

Brent crude futures for June delivery ended the session up 0.20%, or 12 cents, at $64.88 a barrel.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for May delivery rose slightly, by 3 cents, to $61.53 a barrel.

Official data released today showed that China's crude oil imports rose about 5% year-on-year to 51.41 million tons, or 12.1 million barrels per day (bpd), in March—their highest level since August 2023.

This compares to an average of 10.38 million bpd during the first two months of the year. The rebound in imports in March was supported by supplies from Iran and Russia.

Oil prices received additional support from easing investor fears of a global economic recession after US President Donald Trump exempted some electronic devices and equipment, such as cellphones, from reciprocal tariffs imposed on countries.

However, OPEC's lowering of its forecast for global oil demand growth for the current and next two years negatively impacted crude oil's performance in today's trading.

In its monthly report released today, the organization said it expects global oil demand to grow by 1.3 million bpd this year and 1.28 million barrels in 2026, compared to its previous estimates of 1.45 million and 1.43 million barrels, respectively.