Oil prices were falling Monday amid low activity in the Asian session due to the long weekend in China in observance of the New Year according to the lunar calendar.
Hong Kong and Singapore markets are also closed.
The price of March futures for Brent crude oil on London’s ICE Futures Exchange stood at $87.35 per barrel by 7:15 a.m. Monday, up $0.28 (0.32%) from the close of the previous session. Those contracts rose $1.47 (1.7%) to $87.63 a barrel at the close of trading on Friday.
The price of WTI futures for March crude oil at electronic trades of NYMEX fell by that time by $0.23 (0.28%) to $81.41 per barrel. By closing of the previous session the cost of these contracts grew by $1.03 (1.3%) to $81.64 per barrel.
Brent gained 2.8% and WTI gained 1.8%.
Traders continue to assess the prospects for oil demand in China after the lifting of quarantine restrictions. During the holidays, which will last until the end of this week, many people travel, which should cause a significant increase in demand for fuel, and after the weekend experts expect an increase in industrial activity in China, said Bloomberg.
In addition, the market remains focused on the situation in Russia after the entry into force of the embargo on oil supplies from the country and the introduction by the G7 countries of a price ceiling in response to a full-scale war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the total volume of oil exports from Russia in December fell by 2.5% compared to November, to 7.8 million bpd, as crude supplies to the EU decreased.
Russian oil exports fell 6 percent last month to 4.7 million bpd, the lowest level last year. At the same time, petroleum product sales rose 3.3 percent to 3.1 million bpd.
According to the IEA forecast, by the end of the first quarter, Russian oil production will be about 1.6 mln bpd lower than before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
