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Oil prices increased on Thursday on expectations of a surge in oil demand in China, the world’s largest oil importer.
International benchmark Brent crude traded at $85.85 per barrel at 09.46 a.m. local time (0646 GMT), up 0.55% from the closing price of $85.38 a barrel in the previous trading session.
At the same time, American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $79.19 per barrel, a 0.76% rise after the previous session closed at $78.59 a barrel.
China’s economy is expected to recover after the country lifted strict COVID-19 restrictions and opened its doors to international travel.
With the recovery of the economy, China’s oil demand is expected to rise.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that the global oil demand increase will be dominated by China’s growth forecast of around 900,000 bpd in 2023.
Global oil demand is set to rise by 1.96 million barrels per day (bpd) this year to a record 101.9 million bpd, the IEA said in its monthly oil market report on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, a larger-than-expected rise in US oil inventories limited price increases.
US commercial crude oil inventories increased by 3.6% during the week ending Feb. 10, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) late Wednesday.
Inventories rose by around 16.3 million barrels to 471.4 million barrels, against the market expectation of an increase of around 321,000 barrels.
