Oil prices increased over 1% during the week ending Jan. 20, with demand euphoria as China decided to lift COVID-19 restrictions.
Brent crude was trading at $86.32 per barrel at 1155 GMT on Friday, posting an 1.12% gain from the Monday session that opened at $85.36 a barrel.
American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) registered at $80.78 per barrel at the same time on Friday, increasing 1.25% relative to the opening price of $79.78 a barrel on Monday.
The prices started the week on a negative note over market cautiousness ahead of industry data by two major energy watchdogs, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Oil prices were mixed on early Tuesday over demand woes as the world’s second largest economy, China, posted its second-lowest economic growth in at least four decades last year.
However, the prices edged higher later on Tuesday and Wednesday over bullish demand expectations.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum held in Davos on Tuesday, China's Deputy Prime Minister responsible for the economy, Liu He, said life and production in the country returned to normal levels after COVID-19 measures were lifted, and signaled an optimistic outlook for the Chinese economy.
Meanwhile, the OPEC kept global oil demand growth unchanged for 2023 in its most recent monthly oil market report published Tuesday.
Oil demand is projected to grow by 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2023 to reach 101.8 million bpd with some minor upward adjustments due to the expected better performance in China's economy on the back of its reopening from COVID-19 restrictions.
Moreover, the IEA said in its monthly oil market report on Wednesday that global oil demand is set to rise by 1.9 million bpd this year to a record 101.7 million bpd, with nearly half of the gain from China following the lifting of its COVID-19 restrictions.
On Thursday, oil prices retreated from their highest level in over a month after weak US data fueled worry over recession.
US Producer Price Index recorded its biggest decline since April 2020 in December, with 0.5% fall, according to data released Wednesday.
Retail sales in the US fell 1.1% in December, below expectations, while industrial production fell 0.7%, the biggest drop since September 2021. Additionally, US Fed reported that US companies expect 'low growth' in the economy in the coming months.
Meanwhile, US commercial crude oil inventories rose by around 8.4 million barrels to 448 million barrels, against the market expectation of a decline of around 1.75 million barrels.
A more-than-expected stockpile increase signals a drop in crude demand, capping swift price increase.
By Firdevs Yuksel
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr