Crude edged higher as a boost in China imports signaled a brighter demand picture. Futures climbed 0.8 percent in New York, trimming this week’s loss to 2 percent. China’s crude oil imports rebounded from a one-year low to near a record in November. Yet, casting a cloud over crude this week was a U.S. Energy Information Administration report showing an increase in motor-fuel inventories and crude output. “Everyone is talking about that big jump in imports of crude into China last month,” according to John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC, a New York-based hedge fund. “It’s definitely a strong source of demand.” Still, prices continue to be suppressed by an ongoing “ramp up in U.S. crude oil production,” Kilduff said by telephone. “A lot of credit and hopes were pinned on OPEC and the deal that was cut, but there continues to be more and more oil and product coming to market.” The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies agreed to extend output curbs until the end of 2018 at a meeting in late November. Yet, U.S. shale might get in the way of the producers’ plans. Chevron Corp. said this week it will ramp up investment in the U.S. Permian Basin and other shale fields next year. West Texas Intermediate for January delivery climbed 55 cents to $57.24 a barrel at 9:59 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Total volume traded was about 5 percent above the 100-day average. Brent for February settlement rose 81 cents to $63.01 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices are down 1.1 percent this week. The global benchmark traded at a premium of $5.69 to February WTI. U.S. crude production expanded for a seventh week to 9.71 million barrels a day, the highest level in weekly data compiled by the EIA since 1983. Gasoline inventories surged by 6.78 million barrels last week, the biggest gain since January. China will “inevitably” become more reliant on crude imports due to falling output from giant onshore fields outweighing smaller growth from offshore blocks, according to Fitch’s BMI Research. “A recovery in Chinese imports is probably settling a few nerves,” said Ole Sloth Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank A/S in Copenhagen. Overall, though, “the focus is switching back from the OPEC-cut extension, to U.S. stocks, production and rig count.” Oil-market news:
  • Crude could fall from current levels in the first half of next year, JPMorgan Chase & Co. equity analyst Christyan Malek said in a Bloomberg Television interview.
  • BP Plc will focus on drilling new wells near its existing offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea next year, part of a plan to only build projects that meet its targeted returns at $50 a barrel.