The price of Texas intermediate oil (WTI) rose 1.2% this Friday and closed at US$81.31 a barrel, thus achieving its second week on the rise due to confidence that demand for crude oil will increase with the reopening of China after the pandemic.
At the close of business in New York, WTI futures contracts for February delivery were US$0.98 compared to the previous day’s close.
The price of crude thus once again exceeded the barrier of US$80 for the second consecutive day.
Investors remain optimistic about the lifting of restrictive measures in China, the largest oil importer, as they hope this will lead to a revival of the economy and energy consumption, especially during the Chinese New Year celebrations, which begin this weekend and will last for 15 days.
The latest data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), which reported on Thursday an 8.4 million-barrel build in domestic crude oil reserves for the week ending January 13, the highest since June 2021, they did not make a dent in the spirits of the merchants neither yesterday nor today.
On the other hand, natural gas futures contracts for February subtracted US$0.10 to US$3.17, and gasoline futures due the same month gained US$0.04 a gallon to US$2.64.