REUTERS
Oil prices rose on Tuesday as data showed Chinese oil demand likely hit a record high in 2015, but contracts remained below $30 a barrel as the IEA said the market should stay oversupplied until at least the end of this year, according to Reuters.
"It seems to be a healthy upside correction in an otherwise downtrending market," said Tamas Varga, oil analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil Associates, Reuters reported.
Brent crude futures LCOc1, the global benchmark, traded up 75 cents, or 2.6 percent, at $29.30 a barrel at 0918 GMT. U.S. crude futures CLc1 were up 20 cents at $29.62 a barrel, maintaining their unusual premium over Brent.
Traders said prices drew support from strong oil demand in China. Preliminary Reuters calculations based on government figures showed record oil consumption of 10.32 million barrels per day (bpd), up 2.5 percent from 2014, defying slowing growth in the world's second-largest economy.
Read alsoOPEC’s oil basket hits 13-year lowBut oil prices remained near 12-year lows as a global glut was set to last until at least late 2016, according to the International Energy Agency, which advises industrialised countries on energy policy.
The agency left its estimate of growth in global demand for 2016 unchanged from its previous monthly report at around 1.2 million bpd.