Brent oil trading higher on signs of improved oil demand

Brent oil futures are trading above $73 a barrel Tuesday in Asia as investors looked for signs of improving global crude oil demand amid light holiday trading. Brent crude oil futures is currently trading up at around $73.10 on the ICE Futures Exchange.

Brent oil prices have traded between $67 a barrel and $84 for the last few months as investors struggle to gauge correct levels of global crude demand. On Monday, Japan said its economy grew an annualized 4.6 percent in the fourth quarter while China raised reserve requirements for banks last week in a bid to slow economic growth and avoid asset bubbles.

“There are some signs of improvement in OECD countries as a whole with strong Japanese growth data,” Barclays Capital said in a report. “Worries about softening in China’s commodity demand are overblown.”

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