Oil tick higher, snaps 2-day losses

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices rose on July 18 after dropping nearly 4% in the last two sessions on weak Chinese economic data.

“Weaker than expected Chinese macro data and the reaction from the oil market shows that the key concern for the market remains demand,” said Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy for ING Group NV in Singapore.

Brent crude for September delivery traded up 0.33%, or 26 cents, at $78.67 a barrel by 01:04 Makkah Time.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for August delivery rose 0.39%, or 29 cents, to $74.44 a barrel after losing 1.7% on Monday.