Crude oil prices recovered after early losses and settled sharply higher on Monday, as data showed a significant increase in oil purchases by China in the month of August.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended higher by $1.75 or about 2% at $90.76 a barrel, recovering from a low of $87.22 recorded earlier in the session.
Brent crude futures settled at $96.65 a barrel today, gaining $1.73 or about 1.8% for the session. Brent futures had dropped to a six-month low of $92.79 a barrel on Friday.
According to data released over the weekend, China took in 8.79 million barrels per day in July, a month after purchases dropped to a four-year low. However, that was still 9.5% lower than a year ago, customs data showed.
Some short-covering after last week's sharp plunge - WTI futures slumped around 10% and Brent contract shed almost 14% - contributed as well to oil's rally from six-month lows.
