Oil prices advance as China lines up boost in U.S. crude imports

* China plans to ship more U.S. oil in Aug-Sept
* OPEC+ ministerial panel to meet on Aug. 19

By Florence Tan
SINGAPORE, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Oil prices climbed higher on
Monday, lifted by China's plans to ship in large volumes of U.S.
crude in August and September, outweighing concerns over a
slowdown in demand recovery after the coronavirus pandemic and
an uptick in supplies.
Brent crude LCOc1 rose 21 cents, or 0.5%, to $45.01 a
barrel by 0023 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude
CLc1 was up 27 cents, or 0.6%, to $42.28 a barrel.
Chinese state-owned oil firms have tentatively booked
tankers to transport at least 20 million barrels of U.S. crude
for August and September, Reuters reported on Friday, as China
ramped up energy and farm purchases ahead of a review of the
Sino-U.S. trade deal. Record crude imports from world's top importer China and the
easing of COVID-19 restrictions globally have supported oil
prices, although new waves of coronavirus outbreaks in several
countries are expected to cool consumption again.
ANZ estimated that demand has risen 8 million barrels per
day (bpd) over the past four months to 88 million bpd - still 13
million bpd below this time last year.
Investors are looking for more clues on future supply from a
meeting this week of a panel representing ministers of the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its
allies, known as OPEC+. The meeting of the panel has been pushed
back to Aug. 19, a day later than previously planned.
The panel, called the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee
(JMMC), monitors OPEC+ production curbs agreed earlier this
year. Last month the JMMC recommended that cuts be eased from
Aug. 1 to about 7.7 million barrels per day (bpd) from a
reduction of 9.7 million bpd since May, in line with an earlier
OPEC+ agreement.
In the United States, meanwhile, the number of oil and
natural gas rigs operating last week remained anchored at a
record low for a 15th week, even as higher oil prices prompt
some producers to start drilling again.