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Brent crude was down 5 cents, or 0.1%, at $55.05 per barrel by
1131 GMT while West Texas Intermediate U.S. crude was up 4
cents, or 0.1%, at $52.40.
China's economy picked up in the fourth quarter, with growth
beating expectations as it ended a coronavirus-hit 2020 in
remarkably good shape and remained poised to expand further this
year even as the pandemic raged unabated.
However, China was in marked contrast to the U.S. and Europe,
where the spread of coronavirus has raised doubts over how soon
economies could recover.
"Corona-induced economic fears, a stronger U.S. dollar and more
pessimistic investor sentiment are all playing their part in the
fact that Brent is trading ... around $3 lower than last
Wednesday," said Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg.
Security concerns ahead of this week’s U.S. presidential
inauguration are also dragging on investor sentiment, said PVM
Oil analyst Tamas Varga.
"In addition to the coronavirus running amok, this week’s tense
presidential inauguration can also cause unease amongst
investors," he said.
U.S. drillers last week put more oil and natural gas rigs to
work for an eighth consecutive week, encouraged by recent price
strength that made production more profitable, though the number
of operating rigs is still less than half the level of a year
ago.
U.S. drillers have indicated they will continue to keep their
spending under control, ANZ Research said in a note.
"The economics also don't favour a surge in drilling, with half
of the industry still uneconomical," they said.
Oil prices also found support in a drop in Libyan oil output,
with Waha Oil Company reducing production by up to 200,000
barrels per day because of maintenance on the main pipeline that
links the Al-Samah and Al-Dhahra oilfields to Es Sider port.
(Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in London; additional
reporting by Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo; editing by David Goodman
and Jason Neely)
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