Oil heads for 7th weekly loss as supply surplus, weak China demand weigh on market

Tokyo, Dec. 8 (BNA): Oil benchmarks were headed for a seventh straight weekly decline on worries over a global supply surplus and weak Chinese demand.

Brent crude futures rose $1.54, or 2.1%, to $75.59 a barrel by 0704 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained $1.39, or 2%, to $70.73 a barrel, Reuters reported.

Both benchmarks slid to their lowest since late June in the previous session, a sign that many traders believe the market is oversupplied. Brent and WTI are alarmingly  in contango, a market structure in which front-month prices trade at a discount to prices further out.

ZH