Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/ SINGAPORE: Oil prices climbed on Monday as China, the world’s top crude importer, reopened borders, boosting the outlook for fuel demand growth and offsetting international recession concerns.
Brent crude futures edged up 90 cents, or 1.2%, to $79.47 a barrel at 0520 GMT, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 90 cents, and 1.2%, at $74.67.
A Hope for less-aggressive U.S. interest rate rises to buoy financial markets and depress the dollar. The weaker greenback makes dollar-denominated commodities more affordable for investors holding other currencies.
Brent and WTI tumbled more than 8% the previous week, their most significant weekly declines at the start of a year since 2016.
Avtar Sandu, senior manager for commodities of Phillip Futures, said, “Crude oil prices recovered from the last week’s losses as the economic reopening in China and the less aggressive monetary tightening prospects from the Federal Reserve set the positive tone for demand recovery,”.
China opened borders over weekend
As part of the “new phase” in the fight against covid, China opened borders over the weekend for the first time in the last three years. Domestically, some 2 billion trips have been expected during the Lunar New Year season, nearly double last year’s movement and recovering to 70% of 2019 levels, Beijing says.
Over the previous week, airlines have boosted their January global seat capacity to and from China by 9.5 percent as they ramp up flights after its opening border, according to aviation data provider Cirium.
