The oil price intermediate of Texas (WTI) rose 2.95% this Friday and closed at 88.96 dollars a barrel, after China announced that it is relaxing some of its measures to combat covid-19, which is expected to increase the demand for crude oil.
The futures contracts WTI for delivery in December they added 2.49 dollars with respect to the closing of the previous day, although in the whole of the week they fell 3.9%.
This Friday, the reference crude in USA rose sharply on expectations that the lifting of certain COVID-19 restrictions in China could stimulate the country’s economy and boost global energy demand.
China, which is the largest importer of Petroleum in the world, has seen a lower consumption of fuels due to the reduction in mobility and activity as a result of its strict actions against the pandemic.
You could read: Fuel prices remain unchanged
Beijing, without giving up its goal of “covid zero”, announced this Friday a reduction in quarantines for infected contacts and for travelers arriving in the country, and said that it will be possible to ship to China with a PCR test refusal made in the previous 48 hours, compared to the two that were previously required.
The revocation of the airline sanctions mechanism was also announced, according to which the detection of covid cases among passengers upon arrival in China caused the cancellation of the route for weeks, a policy that significantly reduced flights to the Asian giant.
In addition, the price of “black gold” was helped this Friday by the inflation data released on Thursday in United Statesbetter than expected, which make the market trust that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will be able to stop interest rate hikes and thereby avoid a recession.
A falling dollar also helped, making the product cheaper for buyers operating in other currencies.
futures contracts for natural gas for December delivery lost 36 cents to 5.88 Dollarsand those of gasoline for the same month they earned 4 cents, up to $2.60 a gallon.