After China opened its borders, Brent crude futures rose $1.08, or 1.4%, to settle at $79.65 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 86 cents, or 1.2%, to $74.63 a barrel.
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Oil rose more than 1%, with optimism about demand after China opened its borders
Oil prices rose more than 1 percent today, Monday, after China opened its borders, which supported expectations of fuel demand, and covered the impact of fears of a global recession.
The recovery came within the framework of a broader increase in risk appetite, supported by the actions of China, the largest importer of crude oil in the world, and hopes to slow the pace of raising interest rates in the United States, with the rise of stocks and the decline of the dollar.
Brent crude futures rose $1.08, or 1.4%, to settle at $79.65 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 86 cents, or 1.2%, to $74.63 a barrel.
The recovery came after a drop last week of more than eight percent in the prices of the two benchmarks, in their largest weekly decline at the start of a new year since 2016.
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As part of a “new phase” of the war against “Covid-19”, China opened its borders over the weekend for the first time in three years. The number of domestic flights is expected to reach two billion during the Lunar New Year season, nearly double last year’s traffic and regaining 70% of 2019 levels, Beijing says.
Despite the recovery in oil prices today, Monday, there are still fears that this massive influx of travelers will lead to a further increase in Covid-19 infections while remaining economic concerns looming.