Doha: Oil settled up about $1 a barrel on Friday and notched a second straight weekly gain as China’s economic prospects brightened, boosting expectations for fuel demand in the world’s second-biggest economy. China’s lifting of COVID-19 restrictions should bring global demand to a record high this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday, a day after OPEC also forecast a Chinese demand rebound. Brent crude closed at $87.63 a barrel, up $1.47, or 1.7 percent. US WTI crude settled at $81.31 a barrel, gaining 98 cents, or 1.2 percent.
For the week, Brent logged a 2.8 percent increase and the US WTI benchmark saw a 1.8 percent rise. Oil was supported by hopes that the US Federal Reserve will soon downshift to smaller interest rate hikes, which could brighten the US economic outlook, analysts said. Also helping oil prices, Baker Hughes said the US oil rig count fell 10 to 613, its lowest since November.
The oil market has been down on global recession fears, but it is still showing signs it can remain tight a little while longer. Meanwhile, a price cap and sanctions on Russian oil, which have been rippling through the global market, are gradually acquiring some price impact and will become more of a bullish factor.
Asian spot liquefied natural gas prices fell for the fifth week in a row on ample inventories and tepid demand ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, amid low gas prices in Europe where storage levels are above the five-year average. The average LNG price was $22 per mmBtu, down $1, or 4.3 percent, from the previous week, industry sources estimated.
