Oil up 3% on China stock market rebound, Iran uncertainties

[NEW YORK] Crude oil futures jumped 3 per cent on Thursday, rebounding forcefully from the three-month lows of this week, as China's stock market steadied from its collapse and uncertainties remained about a nuclear deal that will allow Iran to export more crude.

Bets of strong gasoline demand through the US summer driving season also fueled the crude rally. Futures of gasoline and ultra-low sulfur diesel rose more than one per cent.

"We're up on a host of headlines and the natural rebound that follows a massive sell-off. Fundamentally, nothing's changed," said Donald Morton, who runs an energy-trading desk at investment bank Herbert J Sims & Coin in Fairfield, Connecticut.

Brent crude futures were up $1.80, or 3.2 per cent, at $58.85 a barrel by 10:55 am EDT (1555 GMT), rising more than $2 at the session high. It had plumbed an early April low of $55.10 on Monday.

US crude futures rose $1.25 to $52.90, rebounding from this week's three-month low of $50.58.

Appetite for riskier assets such as oil was buoyed after Chinese equities rebounded 6 per cent, helped by Beijing's frantic attempts to staunch a sell-off that has roiled global markets.

In Vienna, talks for a nuclear accord between Iran and world powers were extended on Thursday for an ninth day beyond their original deadline. A U.S. official said Secretary of State John Kerry was to make a statement on the negotiations at approximately 1700 GMT.

Iran is seeking to restore oil exports that have dropped from 2.5 million barrels per day in 2011 to about 1 million bpd in 2014 due to Western sanctions arising from its controversial nuclear program.

REUTERS