Optimism about Chinese demand leads oil to a strong weekly rise

Oil prices rose this Friday morning and were on track to gain more than 7% for the week thanks to solid signs of demand growth in China, the world’s main crude importer, and expectations of less aggressive increases. of the interest rates in United States.

crude oil futures Brent they were up 53 cents, or 0.6%, at $84.56 a barrel as of 1027 GMT. crude oil futures West Texas Intermediate (WTI) were up 55 cents, or 0.7%, at $78.94 a barrel.

Brent is up 7.6% so far this week and WTI is up 7%, recouping most of last week’s losses.

Analysts pointed out that China’s recent purchases of crude oil and the rebound in road traffic fueled confidence in a recovery in demand in the world’s second largest economy after the reopening of its borders and the relaxation of the covid-19 restrictions after the protests last year.

In another encouraging sign, ANZ analysts noted that a congestion index covering the 15 Chinese cities with the highest number of vehicle registrations had risen 31% from the previous week.

Oil prices have also been helped by the dollar’s slide to almost nine-month lows, after data showed that the inflation declined for the first time in two and a half years, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve will slow down the pace of rate hikes.

The weakness of the greenback tends to boost demand for oil, as it lowers the price of the commodity for buyers with other currencies.