Oil erases decline as traders weigh China’s return from lockdown
BNN Bloomberg
Oil erased an earlier loss as investors weighed China’s bumpy return from virus curbs.
West Texas Intermediate futures rose 0.3 per cent to trade near US$122 a barrel, heading for a seventh weekly gain. China is cautiously lifting most virus restrictions, even as fresh lockdowns are planned in parts of Shanghai. Any rapid demand recovery in the country will put further strain on a market that has tightened on rebounding global consumption and disrupted Russian flows.
Oil has maintained its upward momentum this year through bouts of volatile trading following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. this week boosted its price forecasts into 2023, while OPEC warned that most members are “maxed out” on crude production. The European Union is also working to ban Russian crude imports, stoking supply fears further.
