REUTERS, London

Oil prices were on track to end 2024 with a second consecutive year of losses, although rising on Tuesday after data showed China’s manufacturing activity expanded in December.

Brent crude futures rose by 54 cents, or 0.73 percent, to $74.53 a barrel as of 1107 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 57 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $71.56 a barrel.

At those levels, Brent was down around 3.3 percent from its final 2023 close price of $77.04, while WTI was little changed from where it settled on Dec. 29 last year at $71.65.

In September, Brent futures closed below $70 a barrel for the first time since December 2021, while their highest closing price of 2024 at $91.17 was also the lowest since 2021, as the impacts of a post-pandemic rebound in demand and price shocks from Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine began to fade.

A weaker demand outlook in China in particular forced both the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) to cut their oil demand growth expectations for 2024 and 2025.