Business News Asia
Crude oil rebounds in Asia on Monday as Chinese demand is expected to recover
Oil prices rebounded in Asia Monday morning after falling more than $2 per barrel in the previous trading session. The positive impact of China’s reopening and the recovery in oil demand outweighed concerns about a global recession.
- Brent crude futures rose 72 cents, or 0.9%, to $79.76 a barrel.
- WTI crude was at $74.89 a barrel, up 60 cents, or 0.8 %.
China, the world’s largest crude oil importer and second largest oil consumer, is likely to face a third wave of COVID-19 outbreaks after Beijing eased travel restrictions. Analysts at CMC Markets said that despite the rapid rise in COVID cases, optimism and loose policies have improved the outlook for oil demand.
On Friday, Caixin news agency reported that China plans to increase the number of flights with the aim of bringing the country’s average daily passenger volume back to 70% of 2019 levels by Jan. 6. China’s diesel and gasoline exports continued to rise in November, reaching their highest levels in more than a year, as refiners rush to fill 2022 export quotas and sell more stock.
Both contracts rose more than 3% last week as the oil pipeline from Canada to the U.S. remains closed. For now, operator TC Energy Corp is still busy cleaning up the spill.
Friday’s announcement by the U.S. Department of Energy to begin buying back crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve supports a stronger price trend. It is the first purchase by the U.S. since 2019, after 180 million barrels of oil were released from storage.
The Spot Market is Open
Monday, December 19, 2022
| Energy Updated at | USD Price | Change | %Change |
| Crude Oil 13.45 | 74.68 | +0.39 | +0.52% |
