Crude oil futures climb ahead of Trump's meeting with US oil leaders

Singapore — 0215 GMT: Crude oil futures were higher in mid-morning trade Asia Thursday, as more optimism emerged ahead of US President Donald Trump's meeting with oil industry leaders later in the week.

At 10:15 am Singapore time (0215 GMT), ICE Brent June crude futures were up $1.41/b (5.7%) from Wednesday's settle at $26.15/b, while the NYMEX May light sweet crude contract was 99 cents/b (4.87%) higher at $21.30/b.

"WTI remains rooted near the $20/b level. The American Petroleum Institute said yesterday that selected executives from oil companies are due to meet President Trump this Friday to discuss ways to help the market," OCBC analysts said in a note Thursday morning.

Trump is expected to meet with US oil industry leaders on Friday to discuss steps the government can take to help the sector, according to media reports.

The oil industry has come under significant pressure amid the rapid deflation of oil prices, especially from concerns of a looming OPEC+ price war.

US Energy Information Administration also reported a 13.83 million-barrel build in US crude supply last week, though the scale of the build had been anticipated by the market.

The upcoming US meeting limited further price declines for now, but the long term outlook stays bleak as demand destruction continues amid the growing COVID-19 spread.

"On a global scale, the 'flattening of the curve' with regards to the coronavirus case count still looks to be a distance away," IG market strategist Pan Jingyi said Thursday.

"This is seeing the logarithmic scale continuing to show a steady uptrend, which in other words suggest that there remains an exponential growth in COVID-19 spread despite the containment efforts in place," Pan added.

China said Wednesday that it has more than 1,300 asymptomatic coronavirus cases, the first time it released such data, according to media reports.