Oil Futures Inch Up In Electronic Trade

Crude-oil futures posted modest gains in electronic trading Thursday as Chinese stocks recorded a solid advance to lead Asian markets on signs of improvement in conditions for the country’s manufacturers.

Light, sweet crude-oil futures for delivery in December  climbed 16 cents, or 0.2%, to $86.40 a barrel, building on a 56 cent increase overnight in a regular session on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The advance follows a loss of about 6.5% for the commodity in October, and came in the wake of some positive manufacturing data out of China that signaled a continued recovery. See: China PMI surveys point to recovery.

Most of the major Asian stock markets rose in the wake of the data, with China’s Shanghai Composite rising 1.7%, while Japanese and Taiwanese stocks reversed early losses to end higher.

Elsewhere in the energy complex, December futures for natural gas  and gasoline  rose 0.5% to $3.71 per million British thermal units and 0.3% to $2.64 per gallon, respectively.

Heating-oil futures for delivery in the same month  were little changed at $3.06 a gallon.

Marketwatch