Oil prices are declining Monday morning after a significant rebound last week, driven by optimism over the impact of the lifting of coronavirus restrictions in China on fuel demand in the country and the world.
The value of March futures for Brent at London’s ICE Futures Exchange stood at $84.66 a barrel by 7:10 a.m. Kk, down $0.62 (0.73%) from the close of the previous session. At the close of trading last Friday those contracts grew by $1.25 (1.5%) to $85.28 per barrel.
The price of WTI futures for February at electronic trades of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is $79.35 per barrel by that time, which is $0.51 (0.64%) lower than the final value of the previous session. The contract rose by $1.47 (1.9%) to $79.86 per barrel at the end of last session.
Brent gained 8.3% and WTI gained 8.5%. Both contracts ended trading at the highest levels since the beginning of the year.
The opening of the Chinese economy “was the most important factor behind the growth in oil prices last week”, and data on declining inflation in the U.S. also added to investors’ optimism about the American economy, the president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research Michael Lynch said.
In addition, prices were supported by the weakening of the dollar, the expert added.
This week, traders’ attention will focus on the monthly reports of OPEC and the International Energy Agency, which will be released on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, Trading Econimics noted.
Meanwhile, the number of active oil rigs in the U.S. rose by five last week to 623, oil services company Baker Hughes said. The number of gas rigs dropped by two, to 150.
