Oil rose for the first time in five days

Oil rose for the first time in five days as China’s net crude imports climbed to a six-month high in November and German exports unexpectedly increased.

Prices advanced from a three-week low as China bought the equivalent of 5.68 million barrels a day more than it exported, the most since May. German exports gained in October on goods shipments to countries outside Europe. OPEC will probably leave its production quota unchanged when it meets Dec. 12.

China, the world’s second-largest oil consuming country after the U.S., bought 23.25 million metric tons of crude more than it exported last month, according to figures released on the website of the Beijing-based General Administration of Customs today. The equivalent of 5.68 million barrels a day, that’s up 3 percent from a year earlier, data show.

Exports from Germany, the biggest oil consumer in the European Union, increased 0.3 percent from September adjusted for work days and seasonal changes, the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said today. Economists forecast a 0.3 percent decline, according to the median estimates.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will probably maintain its production quota at 30 million barrels a day of oil, according to analysts.

Crude for January delivery rose to $86.78 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent for January settlement climbed 96 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $107.98 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.