Oil prices go up amid hopes for China economy strengtheningMay 8, 2013 - 09:39 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Oil prices rose Wednesday, May 8 after an upswing in China's trade for April restored hopes that the world's second-largest economy was strengthening, The Associated Press reported. Benchmark crude for June delivery was up 10 cents to $95.72 per barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 54 cents to finish at $95.62 per barrel on Nymex on Tuesday. China said its exports for April rose 14.7 percent over a year earlier while imports gained 16.8 percent. Both figures represented an acceleration of growth compared with March. The figures suggest China's economic growth might be improving after an unexpected decline to 7.7 percent in the first three months of the year from the previous quarter's 7.9 percent. Later Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Department will release its weekly report on U.S. oil inventories. Analysts surveyed by Platts expect an increase in supplies of 1.9 million barrels in the week ended May 3. Carl Larry of Oil Outlooks and Opinions said in a daily newsletter that he expects to see an additional 2 million barrels. Brent crude, which is the benchmark for international oil varieties, fell 7 cents to $104.33 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. |