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Asia midday crude futures: Ice Brent strengthens
Ice Brent futures rose in early Asian trading after a US official said China showed interest in US crude imports and that it backed US opposition to Iran's claims over the strait of Hormuz.
The Ice front-month July Brent contract was at $106.89/bl at 04:00 GMT, up by $1.17/bl from its settlement on 14 May when it ended 9¢/bl higher.
The Nymex front-month June crude contract was at $102.37/bl, up by $1.20/bl from its settlement on 14 May when it ended 15¢/bl higher.
Chinese president Xi Jinping has "expressed interest" in importing US crude and shared the US' opposition to Iran's assertion of control over the strait of Hormuz, a US official said after President Donald Trump's meeting with Xi in Beijing on 14 May.
"The two sides agreed that the strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy," the White House official said. "President Xi also made clear China's opposition to the militarization of the strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use, and he expressed interest in purchasing more American oil to reduce China's dependence on the strait in the future."
Beijing's readout of the meeting made only a cursory reference to the two leaders' discussion of "the situation in the Middle East", among other international crises, and made no mention about energy imports from the US.
Meanwhile, the number of ships passing through the strait of Hormuz jumped on 14 May, and Iran's semi-official Fars news agency said Beijing and Tehran had come to an agreement on movement through the waterway.
The loading of the roughly 500,000 bl-capacity tanker at Kharg Island would mark the first loading there since 7 May, according to maritime information firm Windward.
Ice Brent futures rose in early Asian trading after a US official said China showed interest in US crude imports and that it backed US opposition to Iran's claims over the strait of Hormuz.
The Ice front-month July Brent contract was at $106.89/bl at 04:00 GMT, up by $1.17/bl from its settlement on 14 May when it ended 9¢/bl higher.
The Nymex front-month June crude contract was at $102.37/bl, up by $1.20/bl from its settlement on 14 May when it ended 15¢/bl higher.
Chinese president Xi Jinping has "expressed interest" in importing US crude and shared the US' opposition to Iran's assertion of control over the strait of Hormuz, a US official said after President Donald Trump's meeting with Xi in Beijing on 14 May.
"The two sides agreed that the strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy," the White House official said. "President Xi also made clear China's opposition to the militarization of the strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use, and he expressed interest in purchasing more American oil to reduce China's dependence on the strait in the future."
Beijing's readout of the meeting made only a cursory reference to the two leaders' discussion of "the situation in the Middle East", among other international crises, and made no mention about energy imports from the US.
Meanwhile, the number of ships passing through the strait of Hormuz jumped on 14 May, and Iran's semi-official Fars news agency said Beijing and Tehran had come to an agreement on movement through the waterway.
A tanker loaded crude from Iran's Kharg Island terminal on 14 May, countering claims from the US that storage at the country's main oil export hub is full and loadings have stopped.
The loading of the roughly 500,000 bl-capacity tanker at Kharg Island would mark the first loading there since 7 May, according to maritime information firm Windward.
By Rhalain Reyes