Oil prices rose by around 3% Friday, after Chinese health officials eased some of their COVID restrictions.
Brent crude futures increased by $2.86 or 3.1% to $96.53 per barrel at 1145 GMT. This extends a 1.1% increase in the previous session.
Commerzbank stated that the Chinese government had made the first steps to ease regulations. However, this did not mean that oil prices would drop.
The Friday milder-than-expected U.S. Inflation data boosted hopes that the Federal Reserve would slow rate increases and increase prices, increasing the chances of a soft landing by the world’s largest economy.
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Oil prices were also supported by a weaker U.S. Dollar, which makes it cheaper for foreign buyers.
The benchmark oil contracts still saw weekly declines due in part to increasing U.S. oil inventories and persistent concerns about China’s capped fuel demand, as well as an increase in daily COVID cases.
China’s COVID-19 cases soared to their highest level since the lockdown in Shanghai earlier in the year. Zhengzhou and Beijing both reported records daily cases.
Researchers stated that, aside from work-from-home orders, travel across China was subdued because people wanted to avoid being trapped in quarantine.
