: Oil futures finish higher despite China’s ‘unambitious’ economic growth target

Crude-oil prices settled higher on Monday, shaking off concerns over the energy demand outlook. The Chinese government on Sunday set this year’s economic growth target at around 5%. Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, referred to the target as “unambitious,” and said it led to early Monday losses for oil. However, oil prices settled higher for the session. Saudi Aramco raised the official selling price for Arab light crude oil for Asia and if “Saudi Arabia feels confident enough to raise prices to China, they must feel pretty good about the demand growth expectations,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at The Price Futures Group. April West Texas Intermediate crude CLJ23 climbed 78 cents, or 1%, to settle at $80.46 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.