Commodities

December 28, 2022: Oil prices are stable

Oil prices change little on Wednesday morning amid low trading volumes during the short pre-New Year week. Investors are assessing the situation with supply and demand in the global fuel market, and are also closely following the news from China and the United States.

Oil traded in positive territory for most of the session on the eve of the news that the PRC authorities will cancel the mandatory quarantine for visitors to the country from January 8. Analysts expect that the removal of the latest restrictions will accelerate the growth of the world’s second largest economy and increase demand for fuel.

The market was also supported by reports that the production of petroleum products at the largest US refineries was suspended due to a snow storm. However, work began to resume on Tuesday.

“All of 2022, lockdowns in China led to sharp short-term drops in demand, and now many are raising their expectations for 2023,” said Schneider Electric’s Robbie Fraser. “However, recession risks and rising interest rates remain the main negative factors for oil futures, limiting any upward attempts.

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The cost of February futures for Brent on the London ICE Futures exchange by 8:31 Moscow time has not changed compared to the value at the close of trading the day before and is $84.33 per barrel. As a result of trading on Tuesday, these contracts rose by $0.41 (0.5%).

The price of futures for WTI oil for February at the electronic trading of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is $79.54 per barrel by this time, which is $0.01 (0.01%) higher than the final value of the previous session. As a result of the last session, the contract fell in price by 3 cents (0.1%) to $79.53 per barrel.