Oil turns higher, Brent jumps above $68

Oil prices turned higher on Friday, after the US dollar slumped against its peers and the release of positive Chinese data.

Chinese data showed today that the country's service PMI rose to 56.3 points in April, beating forecasts of 54.2 points.

The Chinese trade balance recorded a surplus of 277 billion yuan, better than forecasts of 130 billion yuan.

Analysts believe that the global oil demand is recovering gradually, as Chinese oil imports rose more than 7% during the first four months of 2021.

The dollar index fell against a basket of currencies by 0.8% to 90.2 points as of 17:42 GMT, after it hit a high of 90.9 points and a low of 90.2 points.

As of 17:35 GMT, WTI crude June futures rose 0.3% to $64.9 a barrel, after hitting a high of $65.2 and a low of $63.9.

Brent July futures rose 0.3% to $68.3 a barrel, after hitting a high of $68.6 and a low of $67.3.