Chinese optimism gives oil prices minor support

NEW YORK, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Chinese assurances of economic stability gave crude oil prices a modest lift in early Wednesday trading despite weak manufacturing activity.

Brent crude oil prices started the trading day in New York at $49.29 per barrel, about a half percent above the previous close. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark for crude oil, was up one tenth of a percent to $46.43 per barrel.

Crude oil prices were pressured during the summer by concerns that Greek debt issues would spill over into a European economy still struggling to emerge from recession. Recent concerns about the health of the Chinese economy have weighed on any potential for a crude oil price recovery.

Preliminary estimates of the China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index hit a six-year low of 47 in September, down from the 47.3 reported in August. A PMI below 50 is a sign of economic contraction. Industrial output in China edged up 0.1 percent from July to 6.1 percent, which the government said was a sign of economic firmness.

"The fundamentals for economic stability have not changed," Ning Jizhe, deputy head of China's National Development and Reform Commission, was quoted in the official Xinhua News Agency as saying.

Low crude oil prices may be pulling markets away from oversupply as capital investment constraints drag on exploration and production. Data published Tuesday by the American Petroleum Institute show total crude oil stocks in the United States dropped 3.7 million barrels for the week ending Sept. 18. Formal data is expected later Wednesday from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.