Crude oil futures got a boost on Thursday, after it was announced that Chinese manufacturing expanded at the fastest rate in two years.

The research, by Markit and HSBC, said a preliminary reading of their purchasing managers’ index rose to 51.9 in January, from 51.5 in December.

Crude oil settled the day 0.76% higher at $95.95 a barrel on NYMEX.

Meanwhile, heating oil gained 0.27% to $3.09 a gallon and unleaded gas climbed 0.98% to $2.88 a gallon.

Natural gas headed the other way as supplies dropped by 172bn cubic feet in the week ended January 18th. The commodity ended the session down 3.04% to $3.45 per gallon.

In metals, gold declined 1.0% to $1,669.90 per troy ounce as a positive outlook lessened its appeal.

Following suit, silver lost 2.21% to $31.72, platinum dropped 0.47% to $1,683.80, and copper settled down 0.22% at $3.68.

NR