09:10 AM EDT, 06/17/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Oil traded higher early on Monday on expectations for rising demand during the busy summer season, offsetting weak industrial data from China.

West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was last seen up US$0.34 to US$78.79 per barrel, while August Brent crude, the global benchmark, was up US$0.36 to US$82.98.

The rise comes despite further weak economic data from China, the No.1 importer, where factory output rose 5.6% last month, down from 6.7% in April, according to a Reuters report, and rising U.S. crude oil inventories.

Still, demand in the aviation sector is on the rise, while the summer driving season boosts gasoline demand and traders bet prices will continue to appreciate, according to Friday's Commitments of Traders report. U.S. economic data also continues to show growth while reports see inflation slowing, though it remains well above the Federal Reserve's 2% target.

"The considerable swelling of US crude oil inventories and the Fed's pragmatism and wariness of cutting rates too hurriedly (or slowly for that reason) ... acted as a brake on further price gains. Further weakness is observed this morning due to sluggish Chinese factory activity. These factors, however, were dwarfed by encouraging financial data out of the US and by the elevated confidence level that global oil inventories are set to plunge as the summer season gets under way in the northern hemisphere," PVM Oil Associates noted.