NEW YORK, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices moved higher on Tuesday as market sentiment was bolstered by robust trade data from China.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for November delivery climbed 77 cents to settle at 40.20 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for December delivery increased 73 cents to 42.45 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
The moves came after data showed China's imports and exports both increased in September, reflecting the second largest economy's recovery from the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Chinese crude oil imports were up 12.7 percent year-on-year in the first nine months, customs data showed.
"Currently, oil demand is driven primarily by China," Carsten Fritsch, energy analyst at Commerzbank Research, said in a note Tuesday.
He said oil prices are likely to remain under pressure as global crude demand is still faltering.
On Monday, both crude benchmarks fell nearly 3 percent. Enditem
