US oil price rise on Germany data

U.S. oil price advanced Wednesday as data showed Germany's industrial output rose more than expected and China's crude oil demand grew. German industrial output unexpectedly increased 1.2 percent in March, better than economists' expectations of a small decline, propping up hopes that Europe's top economy is improving. China posted a trade surplus of 114.53 billion Chinese yuan ( some 18.65 billion U.S. dollars) in April on strong exports growth. The country's exports rose 14.7 percent year on year in the month, while imports surged 16.8 percent, official customs data showed on Wednesday. China's daily crude imports in April rose 3.7 percent from a year ago and 3.5 percent versus March. Traders believed that the world's second oil consumption nation's demand will continue to grow. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that crude supplies of the United State rose 200,000 barrels for the week ended May 3, to a new record of 395.5 million barrels, though the increase is less than expected. Meanwhile, the EIA cut its forecast for global demand growth for this year to 890,000 barrels per day (bpd) and pared its 2014 estimate to 1.21 million bpd. Light, sweet crude for June delivery gained 1 dollar, or 1.04 percent to settle at 96.62 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent for June delivery was little changed, fell 6 cents, to close at 104.34 dollars a barrel.