Oil prices are on the rise as fears of a debt default by Washington fade, a rise accompanied by caution resulting from inflation not falling as quickly as required.
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Oil prices are rising as fears of America’s debt repayment fade away
International oil prices rose during trading today, Friday, after declining by more than 1% in the previous day’s trading. This rise was accompanied by cautious optimism by investors regarding the fading risks of a US default on its debts, according to Reuters.
The agency added that Brent crude futures rose 69 cents, or 0.9%, to $76.55 a barrel, by 09:23 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 56 cents, or 0.8%, to $72.42.
Earlier this week, US President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reaffirmed their intention to reach an agreement soon to raise the $31.4 trillion federal debt ceiling, and agreed to hold talks by Sunday.
However, there is an upside to prices, analysts said, as Chinese demand is expected to continue to improve throughout 2023, offsetting a slowdown in OECD demand.
Opinions remain mixed so far, as investors balance optimism about the US avoiding its debt default crisis, and inflation data that may warn that the world’s central banks will raise interest rates.
Earlier this week, data showed that the productivity of Chinese oil refineries in April rose 18.9% from a year earlier, to the second highest level ever.
In addition to high productivity, Chinese refineries were able to maintain high operating rates to meet the recovering domestic demand for fuel and build stocks before the summer travel season.
2023-05-19 11:01:49
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