RIYADH: Oil futures were steady on Tuesday after mostly weaker-than-expected data from China muddied the outlook for demand from the world’s top crude importer while US plans to refill its Strategic Petroleum Reserve underpinned prices.

Brent crude futures rose $0.06, or 0.08 percent, to $75.29 a barrel at 12:30 p.m. Saudi time, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $71.14 a barrel, up $0.03 cents, or 0.04 percent.

Both benchmarks rose more than 1 percent on Monday, reversing a three-session losing streak.

The US Department of Energy said on Monday it would buy 3 million barrels of crude oil for the SPR for delivery in August, and asked that offers be submitted by May 31.

IEA says oil price downturn ignores looming supply crunch

Weeks of declining oil prices due to concerns over a possible recession will clash with the outlook for scarce supply and robust demand later in the year, according to the International Energy Agency.

“The current market pessimism ... stands in stark contrast to the tighter market balances we anticipate in the second half of the year, when demand is expected to eclipse supply by almost 2 million barrels per day,” the Paris-based agency said.

The IEA raised its forecast for global oil demand by 200,000 bpd to 102 million bpd, noting that China’s recovery after the lifting of COVID-19 curbs had surpassed expectations with demand reaching a record 16 million bpd in March.

The world’s top oil importer is set to account for nearly 60 percent of global demand growth in 2023, offsetting, along with India and the Middle East, sluggish demand in developed countries.

Borrell urges EU to crack down on imports of Indian fuels made with Russian oil

The EU should crack down on India reselling Russian oil into Europe as refined fuel, including diesel, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in an interview with the Financial Times.

India has emerged in the past year as a top buyer of Russian oil following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Access to cheap Russian crude has boosted output and profits at Indian refineries, enabling them to export refined products competitively to Europe and take a bigger market share.

Borrell told the newspaper that he will raise the issue with India’s foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

“If diesel or gasoline is entering Europe ... coming from India and being produced with Russian oil, that is certainly a circumvention of sanctions and member states have to take measures,” the EU’s chief diplomat said.

“That India buys Russian oil, it’s normal ... But if they use that in order to be a center where Russian oil is being refined and by-products are being sold to us ...  we have to act,” Borrell said.