Jan 20 (Reuters) – Oil prices rose on Tuesday after better-than-expected economic growth data from China lifted demand optimism, with markets also watching President Donald Trump’s threats of increased U.S. tariffs on European nations over his desire to buy Greenland.
Brent futures rose 19 cents, or 0.3%, to $64.13 a barrel by 0100 GMT.
The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude contract for February, which expires on Tuesday, was up 25 cents, or 0.4%, from Friday’s close to $59.69.
The more actively traded WTI March contract gained 0.08 cents, or 0.13%, to $59.42.
WTI contracts did not settle on Monday due to the U.S. Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
“WTI Crude Oil is trading modestly higher … finding some support from yesterday’s better-than-expected Q4 2025 GDP data out of China,” IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said in a note.
“This resilience in the world’s top oil importer provided a lift to demand sentiment.”
China’s economy grew 5.0% last year, according to data released on Monday, meeting the government’s target by seizing a record share of global demand for goods to offset weak domestic consumption. That strategy blunted the impact of U.S. tariffs but is increasingly hard to sustain.
China’s refinery throughput in 2025 rose 4.1% year-on-year, while crude oil output grew 1.5%, government data showed on Monday. Both were at all-time highs.
Over the weekend, fears of a renewed trade war escalated after Trump said he would impose additional 10% levies from February 1 on goods imported from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Britain, rising to 25% on June 1 if no deal on Greenland was reached.
“Adding to the upside, USD weakness – sparked by markets selling the dollar in response to President Trump’s ongoing tariff threats over Greenland, offered support for the commodity,” Sycamore added. [USD/]
The dollar was down 0.3% against its peers. A weaker greenback makes dollar-denominated oil contracts cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Markets are also keeping a close eye on Venezuela’s oil sector after Trump said the U.S. would run the industry following the capture of President Nicolas Maduro.
Vitol has offered Venezuelan oil to Chinese buyers at discounts of about $5 per barrel to ICE Brent for April delivery, multiple trade sources said.
China is also importing the most Russian Urals crude since 2023 at prices lower than Iranian oil after top buyer India cut imports sharply due to Western sanctions and before a European Union ban on products made from Russian oil, according to trade sources and shipping data.
(Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie Freed)
Comments