Oil futures rose early Friday, gaining ground after scoring a third straight monthly gain in August on a tightening supply picture. Survey-based activity data from China also provided support ahead of a three-day weekend for U.S. investors.
Price action
-
West Texas Intermediate crude
CL00,
+1.05%
for October delivery
CL.1,
+1.05% -
November Brent crude
BRN00,
+0.99%BRNX23,
+0.99%,
the global benchmark,
Market drivers
Brent and WTI eked out their third straight monthly gains in August, recovering from a pullback attributed to worries about soft economic data from China and the country’s property sector, alongside worries strong U.S. economic data out would prompt more interest rate rises by the Federal Reserve.
See: No August swoon for oil prices. Here’s why crude bounced back.
In China, the August Caixin manufacturing PMI came in above expectations on Friday, rising to 51, a level that indicates improving conditions, as the country also lowered down-payment requirements on homes.
“While doom and gloom builds around China’s growth, PMIs for August provided some encouragement this week, even if they didn’t paint a picture of booming commodities demand,” said Kieran Tompkins, commodities economist at Capital Economics, in a note. “They suggest infrastructure spending has begun to support metals demand and that activity in the oil-intensive transport sector remains robust.”
U.S. markets will be closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday.
Read: Yes, the stock market is closed for Labor Day on Monday
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