U.S. West Texas Intermediate and international-benchmark Brent crude oil futures finished higher for the third consecutive week, helped throughout the week by a friendly government inventories report, the announcement of government crude oil purchases for its strategic reserve and a dampening of concerns over rising supply by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

While those factors may have been enough to underpin the market, what finally triggered a near-term breakout was a report that showed China’s daily crude oil throughput rebounded in April from a 15-month low in March as refiners cranked up operations to meet renewed fuel demand after lock downs imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus outbreak were eased.

Last week, July WTI crude oil settled at $29.52, up $3.35 or +12.80% and July Brent crude oil finished at $32.50, up $1.53 or +4.71%.

US Energy Information Administration Weekly Inventories Report

U.S. crude stockpiles fell by 745,000 barrels, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 4.1 million-barrel rise.

Stocks in the Cushing, Oklahoma, storage hub fell by 3 million barrels in the last week, EIA week, filling the delivery point for WTI to more than 80% of capacity, as producers find themselves with fewer places to store oil.

US to Buy Up to 1 Million Bbls of Oil for Emergency Reserve

The U.S. Energy Department said on Wednesday it will buy up to 1 million barrels of sweet crude for the government’s emergency petroleum reserve as part an effort to help producers struggling as the coronavirus strangles oil demand, as reported by Reuters.

IEA Trims Demand Loss Estimate

The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Thursday again forecast a record drop in demand in 2020 though it trimmed its estimate of the fall citing easing lockdown measures.

China’s Daily Crude Oil Throughput Rebounds

China processed a total of 53.85 million tonnes of crude oil last month, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Friday, equivalent to about 13.1 million barrels per day (bpd). That was some 11% higher than 11.78 million bpd in March.

Baker Hughes Reports 9^th Weekly Decline in US Oil Rig Count

Baker Hughes on Friday reported that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil dropped by 34 to 258 this week. The oil-rig count has now fallen for nine weeks in a row, implying upcoming declines in domestic crude output. The total active U.S. rig count, meanwhile, also fell by 35 to 339, according to Baker Hughes.