Oil price above $100 on China credit growth

[unhappycamper]

http://www.adn.com/2014/02/16/3330385/oil-price-above-100-on-china-credit.html



FILE- This file photo taken April 12, 2005 shows the oil platform Gilda is seen in federal waters in the Santa Barbara Channel off Ventura, Calif. The California Coastal Commission met on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014 to get an update on offshore hydraulic fracturing, which has occurred at least a dozen times in federal waters since the 1990s. The contested practice involves injecting large amounts of water, sand and chemicals into rock formations to release oil.

Oil price above $100 on China credit growth
The Associated Press
February 16, 2014 Updated 7 hours ago

The price of oil extended gains above $100 a barrel Monday as a rebound in Chinese credit growth suggested steady demand in one of the world's largest petroleum consumers.

Benchmark U.S. crude for March delivery was up 47 cents to $100.77 a barrel at 0630 GMT in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 5 cents to close at $100.30 a barrel Friday.

Favorable credit growth numbers from China suggested its economy is avoiding a sharp slowdown, which would keep demand for energy steady.

Lending by Chinese banks and in the largely unregulated underground market rebounded to 2.6 trillion yuan ($430 billion) in January from December's 1.2 billion yuan, according to the central bank. Lending usually surges at the start of a new year but January's rise exceeded forecasts and might help to ease worries about cooling retail sales, manufacturing and other activity.