The price of a barrel of oil rose globally during trading today, Wednesday, January 18 (2023), to continue the gains for the second consecutive session.
This comes with optimism that lifting the strict restrictions imposed by China on Corona will lead to a recovery in fuel demand in the world’s largest oil importer.
The global price of a barrel of oil today
By 07:48 AM GMT (10:48 AM Mecca time), futures prices forBrent crude The benchmark – for March 2023 delivery – increased by 0.72%, to $86.54 per barrel.
The price of futures contracts also increasedWest Texas Crude American – for February delivery 2023 – by 0.90%, to $ 80.90 per barrel, according to data viewed by the specialized energy platform.
She was Oil prices It ended its trading yesterday, Tuesday, January 17, on the rise, amid hopes for a recovery in demand.
Chinese demand
China’s economic growth slowed sharply to 3% in 2022, missing the official target of 5.5%, and marking the second-worst performance since 1976.
But the data still exceeds analysts’ expectations, after China began to back away from its policy of not spreading the Corona virus in December, as analysts polled by Reuters see that growth in 2023 will rebound to 4.9%.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) saidOPEC) in a monthly report, that the Chinese demand for oil will grow by 510 thousand barrels per day this year.
But OPEC kept its forecast for global demand growth in 2023 unchanged, at 2.22 million bpd.
fuel demand
An analyst at Fujitomi Securities Co., Ltd., Toshitaka Tazawa, said: fuel demand In China, it will rebound after the recent shift in its Corona policy, which provided support forThe global price of a barrel of oil“.
He added that OPEC’s optimistic outlook on Chinese demand also supported market sentiment, “anticipating a bullish tone this week.”
The market also received support from expectations of a decline US crude stocks By about 1.8 million barrels, despite the rise in stocks of oil products, according to a survey conducted by it Reuters.
US oil production
On the supply side, it is set to rise oil production From the major shale oil regions in the United States by about 77,300 barrels per day to a record level of 9.38 million barrels per day in February, the US Energy Information Administration said in a production report on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Russia expects Western sanctions to have a significant impact on its oil product exports and production, which could affect crude oil sales, said a senior Russian source familiar with the country’s future.
“Potential supply losses from Russia and the reopening of China could quickly tighten the market,” ANZ analysts said in a note to clients.
The market is also closely watching more data demand from China In the monthly report ofInternational Energy Agency It is due for release later Wednesday, according to ING analysts.
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