NYMEX crude higher on Japan industrial output, signs of demand growth

Investing.com - Crude oil prices gained smartly in early Asia on Friday as Japan showed solid growth in industrial output, signalling demand growth for the major oil importer, even as prices, jobs and retail sales data lagged expectations.

National core CPI in Japan rose 2.2%, below the 2.3% year-on-year for January expected. The unemployment rate in January ticked up to 3.6%, compared to an expected steady rate of 3.4%. Household spending fell 5.1% in January year-on-year.

Industrial production month-on-month jumped 4.0%, well above an expected gain of 2.7% and retail sales fell 2.0%, compared to a forecast of down 1.3% year-on-year.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for April delivery jumped 1.55% to $48.92 a barrel.

Overnight, crude Oil prices fell sharply on Thursday erasing all of February's gains as the price approaches a 52-week low.

The precipitous drop in crude on Thursday came one day after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 8.4 million barrels last week.

The increase more than doubled its forecasts of a 4.0 million barrel weekly spike. In Cushing, Oklahoma, storage increased from 46.3 million barrels to 48.7 million -- the highest level in over a year.

The U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell 0.7% in January, above estimates of a 0.6% decline. The drop in inflation was the largest decline since December, 2008. The CPI, which slipped 0.3 percent in December, experienced a decline for the third straight month.

On Wednesday, crude oil rose above $50 a barrel as Saudi Arabia oil minister Ali al-Naimi told reporters that oil markets had settled down after a prolonged period of volatility. Naimi's reassuring comments on global oil demand outweighed the negative data.

On the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Thursday, Brent crude for April delivery fell 1.78% or 1.10 points to $60.53 a barrel. The drop reversed a previous gain on Wednesday when Brent neared $62 a barrel.