Oil prices are rising on Friday morning due to rumors about a possible easing of anti-COVID restrictions in China.
The price of December futures for Brent on the London ICE Futures exchange by 8:13 am CST is $92.90 per barrel, which is $0.42 (0.45%) higher than the closing price of the previous session. As a result of trading on Thursday, these contracts fell by 3 cents to $92.38 per barrel.
The price of futures for WTI oil for December in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is $84.98 per barrel by this time, which is $0.47 (0.56%) higher than the final value of the previous session. By the close of the last session, the contract fell 1 cent to $84.51 per barrel.
A positive factor for the oil market was the news about a possible easing of quarantine regulations for tourists in China. The quarantine period could be reduced to 7 days from the current 10, Bloomberg wrote.
Rumors of an easing of restrictive measures in China were perceived by investors as a signal of a potential curtailment of the policy of “zero tolerance” for the coronavirus, which in turn could spur economic growth and increase demand for fuel in the country, writes The Wall Street Journal.
“China was expected to increase oil imports, but there is no increase in spot market activity from the world’s second largest economy,” said StoneX Group analyst Harry Altham. “Such measures could revive the economy, suffering from anti-COVID restrictions, and become a lifeline for struggling air carriers.
Earlier, US President Joe Biden decided to release 15 million barrels from the strategic reserve (SPR) in December.
“Given that this is part of a previously announced large-scale release, the impact on the market is minimal. Such a measure is unlikely to offset the effect of OPEC+ supply cuts,” ING analyst Warren Patterson wrote.
