trimmed Oil prices Its gains, today, Tuesday, after rumors that the OPEC + group would cut production, overshadowed fears of street protests against the strict “Covid-19” restrictions in China, the largest importer of crude in the world.
Despite the reduction in morning gains, Brent crude futures maintained their rise by about 85 cents, or 1.02%, to touch $84 a barrel, while US oil futures rose $1.24 to $78.46 a barrel by 17:13 GMT.
Both benchmarks, which hit 10-month lows last week, posted three straight weekly declines.
Brent ended the last week down 4.6%, while WTI fell 4.7%.
The CEO of CMarkits London, Youssef Al-Shammari, said that any turmoil in the Chinese market affects global markets, whether financial or oil.
Al-Shammari added, in an interview with Al-Arabiya, that there is a high level of uncertainty in China.
For his part, Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager of research at Nissan Securities, said: “In addition to growing concerns about weak fuel demand in China due to an increase in (Covid-19) infections, the political uncertainty caused by rare protests over the government’s strict restrictions on (Covid-19) in Shanghai sell-outs.
He added that the WTI trading range is expected to drop to between $70 and $75.
He pointed out that the market may remain volatile depending on the outcome of the “OPEC +” meeting, and the maximum price of Russian oil.
China, the world’s largest oil importer, has adhered to President Xi Jinping’s “zero-COVID” policy, even as much of the world has lifted most restrictions.