HK Stock Market Move | Oil stocks rose in the afternoon, with oil inventories plummeting to record lows. Various parties may launch a bidding war for the increasingly scarce supply.

Oil stocks rose in the afternoon, as of press time, CNOOC (00883) rose by 2.69% to HKD 27.48; KUNLUN ENERGY (00135) rose by 2.14% to HKD 7.62; PetroChina (00857) rose by 1.46% to HKD 11.15; Sinopec (00386) rose by 0.89% to HKD 4.53. On the news front, on Monday afternoon, Brent crude oil futures briefly rose above $112. The International Energy Agency had previously warned that global oil inventories are being consumed at a record pace. This warning further intensified market concerns: in the coming months, some oil product inventories may fall to critical levels, prompting bidding for increasingly scarce supplies. In addition, the head of commodity and derivative research at a US bank warned in an interview that the global oil market is currently facing a "considerable supply gap," with a daily shortfall of 14 to 15 million barrels, equivalent to a demand gap of 14% to 15%. He stated that only by filling this gap can oil prices possibly fall back to the $60 to $70 per barrel range.