Oil steadies on US inflation data, but set for weekly fall due to China COVID fears

  11 November 2022    Read: 427
Oil steadies on US inflation data, but set for weekly fall due to China COVID fears

Oil prices picked up on Friday after a milder than expected U.S. inflation data reinforced hopes that the Federal Reserve will slow down rate hikes, boosting chances of a soft landing for the world's biggest economy, AzVision.az reports citing Reuters. 

Prices were still set to show a decline for the week after COVID-19 cases in top oil importer China jumped, raising fears of weaker fuel demand.

Brent crude futures rose 21 cents, or 0.2%, to $93.88 a barrel at 0500 GMT, extending a 1.1% rise in the previous session.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 22 cents, or 0.3%, to $86.69 a barrel, after climbing 0.8% in the previous session.

Still, prices were headed for weekly declines of over 4% due to rising U.S. oil inventories and fears of weakening demand in China, due to Beijing sticking to its zero-COVID strategy, both of which CMC Markets analyst Tina Teng described as "major bearish factors."

Chinese authorities stepped up lockdowns and other curbs to prevent the virus spreading as China's case load soared to its highest since the lockdown in Shanghai lockdown earlier this year. Both Beijing and Zhengzhou reported record daily cases.


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