By Christopher Alessi and Amrith Ramkumar 

-- Oil prices ticked up Tuesday, as the two leading benchmarks regained some of the ground lost over the past two trading sessions. The rise came after Chinese officials said they would step up efforts to spur economic growth amid a slowdown, lifting the demand picture for crude and other beaten-down commodities.

-- Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose $1.65, or 2.8%, to $60.64 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

-- West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. oil standard, climbed $1.60, or 3.2%, to $52.11 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

HIGHLIGHTS

Price Rebound: U.S. crude prices have risen 22.5% from 18-month lows hit Dec. 24 on improved sentiment toward global growth and commodities demand as well as signs that a global oversupply is being brought into balance. Oil has been moving in tandem with stocks, which have also bounced back from their Christmas Eve lows.

December's nadir had been preceded by a roughly 40% price plunge during the fourth quarter of last year, from nearly four-year highs reached in early October. But prices had started 2019 off strong, closing up for nine consecutive sessions through last Thursday as the outlook for the global economy improved.

Chinese officials on Tuesday said Beijing intends to improve credit availability for smaller companies, accelerate infrastructure investment and cut taxes, as trade discussions continue.

"Essentially we have gone from pricing a recession back to a more moderate outlook within the span of just six weeks," according to analysts at consulting firm JBC Energy. "Recent optimism, among other aspects, has probably been built on the perceived improvement in U.S.-Sino relations, as well as China's efforts to stimulate its economy, " the analysts wrote in a note Tuesday.

Also, the U.S. Energy Information Administration lifted its estimate for 2019 domestic demand of crude and other liquids in its latest short-term energy outlook, contributing to optimism about more stable consumption.

Some analysts are still skeptical oil can move much higher unless inventories drop significantly, with economic data around the world recently broadly undershooting expectations.

"Looking ahead, the market mood should continue to see pessimism fade and optimism grow, which would bring some tailwinds to oil prices in the near term," said Norbert Ruecker, head of macro and commodity research at Julius Baer. But, he added: "The oil market remains amply supplied, and prices are set to trade rangebound."

U.S. Inventories:

The Energy Information Administration is due to release its weekly report on U.S. oil inventories on Wednesday. Stockpiles are expected to have fallen 2 million barrels last week, according to the average forecast of 13 analysts and traders surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said late Tuesday that its own data for the week showed a 560,000-barrel decrease in crude supplies, a 6-million-barrel rise in gasoline stocks and a 3.2-million-barrel increase in distillate inventories, according to a market participant.

Inventories remain elevated after surging in the fall and sparking the oil-price rout, though they have edged lower recently.

INSIGHT

OPEC+: Recovering crude prices at the start of the year have also been supported by production curbs from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies outside the cartel, led by Russia. The producers began implementing a collective cut of 1.2 million barrels a day at the start of January.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia -- the de facto head of OPEC and the world's largest exporter of crude -- has indicated it will continue to reduce its exports to rein in excess global supply. OPEC and its partners are expected to assess their production-cut agreement at the cartel's next official meeting in Vienna on April 17.

AHEAD

-- The EIA releases its weekly report on U.S. oil inventories on Wednesday.

-- OPEC on Thursday releases its monthly oil-market report, followed by that of the International Energy Agency on Friday.

Write to Christopher Alessi at christopher.alessi@wsj.com and Amrith Ramkumar at amrith.ramkumar@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 15, 2019 17:07 ET (22:07 GMT)