|
Brent crude futures fell 46 cents, or 0.54%, to $85.45 a barrel
by 1017 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 38
cents, or 0.47%, at $79.88.
Both contracts rose by over $1 and Brent dropped $1 in earlier
trading.
"Brent and WTI have recovered almost 15% from the lows a few
weeks ago as traders continue to price in stronger Chinese
demand," Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA, said.
"The outlook remains highly uncertain though which should ensure
oil prices remain highly volatile," Erlam added.
The Chinese government has raised export quotas for refined oil
products in the first batch for 2023. Traders attributed the
increase to expectations of poor domestic demand, as the world's
largest crude importer continued to battle waves of COVID-19
infections.
In further bearish news, China's factory activity shrank in
December as surging COVID-19 infections disrupted production and
weighed on demand after Beijing largely removed anti-virus
curbs.
Adding to the gloomy economic outlook, IMF Managing Director
Kristalina Georgieva said on Sunday that the United States,
Europe and China - the main engines of global growth - were all
slowing simultaneously, making 2023 tougher than 2022 for the
global economy.
The market will be looking for indications from the U.S. Fed's
December policy meeting on Wednesday. The Fed raised rates by 50
basis points (bps) in December after four consecutive increases
of 75 bps each.
Also on the radar, U.S. December payrolls data is due on Friday,
which is expected to show that the labour market remains tight.
(Reporting by Florence Tan and Trixie Yap in Singapore;
Additional reporting by Chen Aizhu and Muyu Xu; editing by David
Evans)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
