Brent crude oil was steady at $108.00 at 6:08 GMT on Thursday morning after better than expected trade data from China, but dissipating geopolitical tension in Ukraine.

Customs data from the world’s second largest oil consumer showed that imports were up 22.4 percent from March to April. Exports were also modestly higher and beat expectations of a decline. Crude oil imports were promising; after falling below 6 million barrels per day in March, China’s oil imports rose to 6.78 million bpd in April. The nation’s trade surplus came in at $18.5 billion for March, much higher than the forecast surplus of $13.9 billion.

Also positive for Brent was data from the Energy Information Administration, which confirmed that US stocks dropped last week despite expectations for a 1.4 million barrel rise. CNBC reported that the EIA’s report on Wednesday showed that US crude inventories were down 1.8 million barrels last week, which lifted both Brent and WTI.

However Brent did have some geopolitical support from problems in Libya, where rebel groups were unwilling to return control of two export terminals to the government. Despite an earlier agreement, the rebels announced on Wednesday that they would keep the ports closed in boycott of Prime Minister Ahmed Maiteeq.