Oil rises on debt deal progress, China data

Oil rose as progress on a U.S. debt deal and expanding factory activity in China overshadowed ongoing concerns about the demand outlook. U.S. crude rose above $68 a barrel after losing about 6% in the previous two sessions. The House passed the debt limit bill and sent the measure to the Senate for consideration by the default deadline. A private survey showed a slight expansion in Chinese manufacturing activity in May, a surprise development that contradicted official data. Investors will now be looking ahead to the weekend’s OPEC+ meeting in Vienna to discuss the group’s production policy. Resilient Russian exports have been part of the Fed’s sharp monetary tightening, along with futures falling about 15% this year. “The broader macro environment is really lifting sentiment. Anything that provides a glimmer of hope that demand may not be as weak as expected is going to be viewed as a positive,” said Daniel Hynes, a senior commodities strategist at ANZ Group Holdings Ltd. The debt deal progress also offset signs of swelling U.S. crude inventories. The American Petroleum Institute reported that inventories rose by 5.2 million barrels last week, the biggest increase since February if confirmed by government data later on Wednesday.