rose Oil prices, today, Thursday, to continue rising, exceeding 3% in the previous session, Buoyed by record high US crude exports and a falling dollar, persistent concerns regarding weak demand in China limited gains in Asia.
By 03:32 GMT, Brent crude futures rose 20 cents, or 0.2%, to $95.89 a barrel.
US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 19 cents, or 0.2%, to $88.10 a barrel, according to “Archyde.com”.
US crude stocks rose by 2.6 million barrels last week, according to weekly government data released on Wednesday, with crude exports rising to 5.1 million barrels per day, the highest level ever.
“Strong US crude exports sparked optimism regarding demand and prompted new purchases, but fears of the continuation of China’s turbulent economic policies in light of the growing strength of President Xi Jinping limited gains in Asia,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager of research at Nissan Securities. “.
Global investors dumped Chinese assets earlier in the week, amid concerns that the focus on ideology may increasingly outweigh the focus on growth under the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong.
The World Bank said on Wednesday it expects energy prices to fall 11 percent in 2023 following rising 60 percent this year in the wake of Russia’s war on Ukraine, but slowing global growth and curbs in China’s fight once morest the coronavirus might lead to a sharper decline.
Prices also received support from the dollar’s weakness, as the recent strength of the US currency was a clear factor behind curbing the oil market’s gains.
The dollar fell, today, Thursday, as market expectations increased to ease the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) its tough stance on raising interest rates.
A weak dollar makes US-denominated oil less expensive for holders of other currencies.