Oil jumps 4pc

Business Recorder reported that crude futures climbed sharply on Thursday. The new front-month December Brent contract finished at USD102.31 per barrel, adding USD4.28 or 4.37 percent. US West Texas Intermediate ended at USD92.87, which was 2.71 percent higher. The rally followed a Wall Street Journal account that Washington was sending a third aircraft carrier and as many as 10,000 more troops to the Middle East, while China suspended exports of oil products.

Prices initially slipped about 1 percent during the session before turning higher once Reuters reported that Chinese refiners had halted shipments of refined fuel to destinations other than Hong Kong and Macau, with no set timeline. UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said the Chinese ban suggested worries about domestic product availability, and added that it was still uncertain whether the step would boost crude imports after stockpiles of crude and fuel in China fell recently.

Diesel markets are already strained, as damage to refineries in the Gulf and Russia has cut supply and Russia has banned diesel exports through October. Industry participants did not expect the shortages to be resolved before next year, and Putin said Moscow would withhold diesel from world energy markets until sanctions against it are lifted. The European Union's energy taskforce is scheduled to convene Friday to consider freeing up diesel reserves.