Crude
oil prices edged up in early Asian trading on Thursday as demand was
estimated to have remained strong despite slowing economic growth in
Asia, and as Russian and western air campaigns in Syria worried
markets. Traders said that a political risk premium has re-entered
oil markets over Syria, where Russia and the United States are both
carrying on bombing campaigns without coordination, triggering fears
of unintentional clashes.
"US
markets are also seeing a first impact of that hurricane heading
America's way and we've seen some speculative buying of WTI to
prepare for the case it impacts Gulf (of Mexico) production,"
World
oil demand surged in the first six months of 2015 compared with the
same period in 2014, responding to a halving in the price of crude
and significant declines in the price of most fuels in most consuming
countries, according to national estimates submitted to the Joint Oil
Data Initiative (JODI).
In
China, Asia's biggest economy, activity in the manufacturing sector
contracted for a second straight month in September, an official
survey showed on Thursday, adding to signs of weakness in the world's
second-largest economy which are shaking global markets.
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